Case of the Muggle Witch II
by Arwen of Imladris
Summary: i couldn't update, i couldn't understand a thing. i'm a nervous person on a paying net cafe thing. Arwen says hello> here's your CHAPTER 20 EVERYONE
1. Default Chapter

****

Pieces of a Mosaic

Connieo Concinnitudo (I)

__

To bring together brings harmony, excitement and pleasure

"No, I refuse to listen to one more word" said Fudge angrily "You shall not have your way on this one Albus! I have decided and I shall not turn back on my word for the likes of you"

"Cornelius, you must listen to me! You'll have the blood of the nation on your hands if-"

"I shall have NOBODY'S blood on my hands!" screeched Fudge

"I am afraid you shall have your own if you persist on this rout" sighed Dumbledore. Fudge had forced him to take the risky path.

"What do you mean, is that a threat?" asked Fudge slyly

"Alas, I fear for your life"

"You . . . fear?"

"I do not know how much longer I can restrain my charge. Her powers have doubled since the last time you saw her; her rate of up-taking has reached a vertiginous peak. She has threatened to find you and strangle you before the month is out several times"

Fudge gaped like a still goldfish. Dumbledore took the occasion to keep on talking.

"I have managed to calm her down for now, but love seems to have tempered her afore-calm spirit. She is powerful Cornelius, beware of her. She has seen much already; being separated from her home and her family, and forced to do strenuous activity every day, and now she is being denied the comfort of a relationship. She has personally told me to refer to you that you should remove the ordinance if you wish to continue living. It was she who pressed me to come again today"

"How . . . dare she threaten me?" said Fudge. Although some red blotches of anger formed on his face, his fingernails turned blue with fright"

"I have seen her progress Cornelius. Her powers have become totally independent of my teachings the last few weeks. She is angry. I beg you, take the ordinance back, or else there shall be a reaction not even the Lord Voldemort himself could survive"

"I'll arrest her for this! This is treason!" cried Fudge

"No Cornelius! It is folly!" Dumbledore said, in a surprisingly calm voice "Which spell shall hold her? Which animal shall harm her? Not even your Grotroblins would ever dare to brush a stray hair off her blouse"

"Then, do we have a dark Queen on our hands?" asked Fudge. Dumbledore was somewhat pleased to see a cold sweat break on the Minister's forehead.

"Oh no! Not at all Cornelius. She is a lady of the kindest of hearts. It is only that , by separating them . . . I fear you have made the only thing she could not withstand. She has sustained being taken from all that was familiar to her, and she has also accepted her role and duty with formidable strength of character. But you see, Harry Potter was her reference in our world. Her turning point, one might say. Miss Dawson took comfort in Harry Potter because she could remember still being relatively free and normal remembering him"

"I still do not understand" said Fudge "this violent reaction"

"You see Cornelius" said Dumbledore "Harry Potter was in many ways her guide in the wizarding world. She met him first, and even though she has known me, and indeed Hagrid, for nearly an equal amount of time, she could find in Harry a friend, instead of a colleague or a mentor. And Cornelius, they are young yet. Harry felt how much she depended on him, and in turn felt the need to protect her. Their young hearts did the rest"

"So you say that . . . she depends on Potter?" asked Fudge.

"She loves Harry" said Dumbledore

"And yet I cannot see why all this fuss"

"I, in turn cannot see a reason behind your obstinate decision"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean; her communication was not going to cause any immediate danger. Voldemort , as I have referred to you, has already found in his mind that she is _not_ the Muggle Witch he searches for. Is it retaliation perhaps?"

"Retaliation?" Fudge threw his chest out to give himself some dignity. Dumbledore knew he had the right button "There can be no such thing when the direction of a country-"

"But I think that in fact, that is what made you issue that order. Is it maybe against me? Or maybe because Harry has worked for me as well in the past?"

"I said it is no such thing!" cried Fudge, his face once again reddening. Dumbledore sighed.

"So be it. But then, what are reasons? Do not tell me they are top secret, Cornelius-" he added, as the Minister opened his mouth and touched a file on his desk "- we are both in the fighting of the dark arts as much as each other"

"Fine then" said Fudge, thoroughly annoyed "You shall have your pound of flesh, Albus!"

"I want no such thing" said Dumbledore seriously "I only want the truth, for the interest of the state, of Miss Dawson and yours also"

"The state depends on me, not you!" cried Fudge

"The state depends on Miss Dawson" said Dumbledore shortly "and Miss Dawson depends on Harry Potter. Remember that June of 1994"

"I remember" replied Fudge, lowering his head "You remind me often enough"

"Harry Potter . . . yes Cornelius, he depend on you. Unless . . . I wonder, has he resigned from his post of Hit Wizard?"

Fudge paled

"Of course . . . of course he hasn't" he stuttered

"He has threatened to do o, has he not?"

Fudge fidgeted, stuttered, looked around, touched some files- and broke down.

"Yes" he said in a whimper "Peter Weasley referred to me that it took a great deal of persuasion on his part to avoid Harry write a resignation letter there and then" Fudge looked up at Albus desperately "I only wanted to avoid her any distractions. I never expected either of them to react in this way! If Harry Potter leaves the Ministry . . . public opinion and moral . . . the people love him, and they would be afraid . . ."

"You need them both, we all do" sighed Albus "Don't you see? Their unity is the best thing that could have happened. Now we have two forces to be reckoned with that have united"

"I still cannot remove the order" he said "Try to understand!" Albus was looking at him _too_ surely "I have my reputation! Give me some months and-"

"We do _not _have some months" said Albus "We shall begin to see a depletion in her work and art by the end of this very week! We do not know how long her cover shall last. Voldemort's glance is safely in Ireland with Remus Lupin at the moment. We have purposely sent out rumours and surrounded Ireland with great protection. Reason Cornelius, we cannot allow her progress to be dampened by-"

"I have already told you, I cannot do it all in a huff" said Cornelius "Issuing an order is easy, but reversing it . . . it would catch the eye Albus. You know yourself how our last mission was ruined because of a spy. No doubt there are more . . ."

"At least remove their bar on communication!" said Dumbledore

"I cannot Albus! Not for now! I'm sure you understand it has to be done _quietly_"

"I'm afraid . . . you shall be receiving another visit soon . . . one not so _quiet_, as you seem to love"

Fudge paled again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Clare sat on the bed, nervously tapping her foot on the floor. Her little friend, Winky, was hugging her legs on the floor next to the bed, looking up at her mistress. Clare had let her into her secret, knowing for certain that the little creature would rather die than betray her.

"It boils down to that Winky" she said "If I don't see him soon, I go crazy and break the place apart"

"But . . .- you is sure you is wanting this? To see Harry Potter?"

"Winky, what do you mean? Of course I want to see him. I . . . I love him Winky, you know that"

"But if you is not seeing him . . . you is not dying" said the house-elf, her eyes watering up

"I woulWinky" said Clare, shaking her head sadly "I'm sure I would die anyway. You see . . . I don't think I will manage to plod along without him . . . I . . . need him to live, Winky, nearly more than air . . . and then, I'll still have to face Voldemort. That prophesy says that we'll go down fighting, but that he'll down with us. We still have to face him Winky . . . if we face him on our own, separately, we won't be strong enough to eliminate him, and we'll die leaving him behind""But Miss" Winky was crying openly. Clare was too resigned to cry "You is not ha_ving t_o face him! You is can run away with Harry Potter, and you leave He-who-must-not-be-named to others""I thought of that Winky" said Clare, looking down at her with eyes wide with pain "I even considered it. But Harry will never- Harry never ran from anything. He won't- he won't start now- will never- and . . . where he goes . . . I go""You is . . . Miss, you can count on Winky" squeaked the house-elf"No! you have nothing to do with this, you don't ha_ve t_o face the danger, like I have to- like WE have to, me and Harry- But Winky . . . I'm ha_ppy t_o die with him . . .""Ah Miss!" sniffed Winky, wiping her wrinkled brown cheeks "You is so young! And Master Potter also! You is should be living your lives. You really is noble Miss, and Harry Potter too, like Dobby always said"Clare gave a wry smile.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~One of the many things Harry and Ron had to do apart from all their papers to sign, missions to prepare and job meetings to attend, was to co-ordinate the training of the younger and freshly promoted Hit Wizards."Dodge those sacks! Those are damnable curses, and you would be fried by now! Dodge, dodge, jump!" yelled Ron, getting red in the dace at the young men. Harry didn't like yelling at the young hits, because most of the new recruits were not much older than himself, and some of them were his and Ron's very own age. Ron, on the other hand, had the patience of a restless young foul."Not like that! Alright, look here". Ron made his way to the middle of the field to show them the right way to do the exercise. Harry sighed and looked on, following Ron with his eyes. Although he knew, and had marks on his skin to prove it, how important the dodging and jumping physicals were when you were actually assaulting enemies, Ron had taken it as a personal plight to get the new hits up to standard. It was not the first time that he got frustrated enough to point at the thin shining burn down his left cheek and said "This is what you get when you fool around on a mission field". That usually worked, and all the hits would begin to concentrate on their exercises.Harry knew that Ron's vigour on the young Hits was not only for the preservation of their personal life. Ron wanted them to be extremely well prepared if the moment came to face Voldemort, so they would be of help to Harry and Ron. Also Ron wanted to take the training off Harry's hands, and so he had taken all the students' classes up on himself.However, unknowing to Ron, this was worst on Harry. Not having something to do, something to occupy his mind, was leaving him to get more and morore depressed. It was unthinkable to-"

"Potter"

Harry turned around to see Mundungus coming up. His folded cheeks were flushed.

"Why `re you standing there, boy?" he asked "Where's you par`ner?"

"Ron's down there on the field. He'd giving the, a practical training"

Mundungus gave him a knowing grin that clearly said Ron was jelling himself hoarse at that very moment

"Just like I used to do myself" he added, a trifle wryly "Anyways Potter, ya'd better get into the buildin`, coz the Junior Minister's there for you. What `ave you done this time, you and yer hot head partner?"

"Does he want Ron too?" asked Harry, although he would have gratefully dashed up to the Ministry building like a possessed.

"Na, only you, but the red head" - he nodded towards the field- "falls under you, so you're going to get a yellin` for both, I rec`n"

Harry nodded and departed at a run, leaving his superior surprised at how eager he was to get his "yellin`". Why had Percy come? Was there more bad news? Or perhaps . . . some good news at last? He didn't count on the last option much, but just thinking of it made him run. Probably towards a delusion, he thought.

He stopped in front of the door of his office to regain his breath (Irene had googled at him as he passed, his outer robe flying behind him). Then he turned the knob and stepped in. Percy was looking out of the window.

"My brother is a real curmudgeon" he said absently to the window pane, clearly trying to break the ice

"He's trying to help me" said Harry quietly, closing the door behind him. The atmosphere in the room was very still "What news?"

"No news" said Percy "Except that Dumbledore had visited for the second time"

"No result?"

"Not . . . yet"

"Is there hope then?". Percy turned from the window wearing a rather smug grin.

"Fudge is breaking. He's just asked me a way of going around a reversal order "as quietly as possible"

"And you call this no news!" cried Harry, striding across the room and hugging the other man in a transport of joy

"Yes" said Percy. He sighed, pushing Harry away, and continued "Sorry to ruin it, but it's going to take very _long_ to remove the order that way Fudge wants to, so ultimately you're in the same situation for another month or so"

Harry's shoulders sagged. He couldn't keep his disappointment from surfacing to his features.

"Don't worry" said Percy, visibly flinching at Harry's face "Dumbledore seems to have something up his sleeve. My office is right next to Fudge's, and I heard, _by chance_, his next visitor wouldn't be `quiet`. What he meant? Well, that beats me, but when Fudge called me in right after, he was as white as a death-bed"

"Seems he's found something Fudge's really afraid of" said Harry thoughtfully

"Not difficult, if you ask me" winked Percy "If I'm lucky, he threatened him with convincing the public I'd make a better Minister"

"Ambitious as ever, aren't you?" said Harry, who couldn't help himself but grin

"Wouldn't be like myself if I wasn't, according to you others, right?" smirked Percy. Harry felt a trifle better

"Why? Aren't we right?" he teased, then he sighed "Oh well, at least I know it's not forever"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Move Remus! Move" hissed Sirius urgently

"But the others are leaving too? They should-"

"Nothing will happen to the others, it's you they want" said Sirius, grabbing his friend by the back of his robe collar and pulling him out of the hut "You're the leader of this faction! They'll expect you to know everything- and you do! I don't want you _or_ your cousin dead. Move I say!"

Remus grabbed his jacket on the way out, as Sirius dragged him out, practically choking him as his friend's grip on the back of the collar was making the front cut into his throat.

"All your men have been replaced by Unspeakables of the ambush division. Snape said they think she's here with you" Sirius lowered his voice farther as he said this. He stopped at the door of the hut, pinched it open, peered outside, and only when he saw the signal from the men positioned around the camp did he leave the hut, Remus still walking backwards at the end of his arm

"Sirius, why did you come here? Why didn't they just send an evacuation order?"

"You are too hard-headed to obey a simple order, that's why I'm here. Don't play games with me Remus; you _did_ receive an evacuation order- I wrote it myself"

"Sirius . . . I didn't receive anything"

Sirius stopped in his tracks. He finally let go of Remus, who gratefully ran a finger along his neck, coughing slightly and regaining his balance as he turned to face his companion.

"What do you mean, you didn't receive anything? I wrote it and sent it three days ago"

"Sirius, I honestly did not receive your letter" said Remus. Sirius had walked them through half the camp, and they were now standing between two sleeping huts of the employees of the base. A while half moon came out from behind the clouds, and flooded the surroundings in white light and blue shadows.

"Filtering" they both said together. Although they were both standing in the patch of shadows one of the huts left behind it, the glare of the moonlight caught their eyes. Remus's hazel eyes twinkled with the same worry he could see in Sirius's black ones.

"We have to move quicker! They'll know we're evacuating if they filtered the letters. They'll be here sooner. Time and date- Quickly!"

"Saturday 8th May" said Remus seriously "12:45 am"

"We've got to get out of here! They could be attacking any minute" hissed Sirius "The Portkey's round the corner"

"Lead on" said Remus

"All the Unspeakables placed here don't know anything about her" said Sirius as he dashed round the block, Remus behind him "so if they're captured they _can't_ tell him anything. But we _do_ know, and not even we can stand one of HIS truth spells. MOVE!"

Remus followed silently, Sirius's hair, now flaked with white as well, flying behind him. His friend stopped abruptly, picking up a tin can from the floor.

"Hold on pal- we're out of here in three . . . two . . . one . . ."

With a dashing noise of violent wind, both man vanished into thin air. The camp was attacked a mere three seconds later.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The Quidditch game had been moved from Friday evening, because the that had began in the afternoon had carried on into the night, and the Snitch could have been damaged by the falling ice. But Saturday dawned bright and sunny, even hot and nothing could have stopped the fourteen players from flying into the pitch.

All the stands roared as the teams zoomed in. the bright yellow and scarlet seemed to match the colours of the cloudless day. Lin yelled herself hoarse when Eliott took his position in the air, and she actually managed to twist a smile out of him. Amanda, Edward and Jim were all wearing school flags with the Gryffindor lion moving all over them.

Clare clapped and cheered with the rest. She looked on and laughed as Amanda, Jim and Lin tried to make Ann support Gryffindor with more vigour. They had dragged the poor girl away from her house stand and were now keeping her surrounded by gold and scarlet, which clashed horribly with the blue badge and belt of her uniform.

Clare herself had never gone to sit in the teacher's stand; she openly supported Gryffindor in Quidditch, come what may. She laughed, cheered, yelled and bood with all the others. When Gryffindor scored their first ten points she even stood up, clapping her hands raw. Nobody would have suspected the she had been told the possibility of her death was closer than a bed at 89 years lived happily.

In fact, the girl had all but forgotten about it. it was this very thing that had made her, that morning when she woke up in Harry's bed, decide to make the most of life, to live every second of it, to grab all the occasions to laugh while she could. Had she had Harry beside her, wearing Gryffindor rosettes and cheering Eliott's team along with her friends, she would have had perfect happiness. However, if she closed her eyes, she could imagine him right there extremely easily. His messed hair ruffled in the fresh breeze, his specks glittering in the sun as he smiled down at her or yelled at Madam Hooch for a free shot.

Of course, when she opened her eyes to find the crowd roaring at Gryffindor's second score, Harry wasn't there.

But he would be very soon. She would make sure of it. She had a good idea about what she would do to the Minister once she found herself face to face with him.

With a hellish grin, she snapped her fingers.

Everything stopped.

All the players froze in their positions, robes and hair flying behind them as if they had been sculptured that way. The Chasers stopped chasing, the Beaters stopped beating, the Seekers stopped seeking and the Keepers stopped defending their poles

The bludgers stopped zooming around. The quaffle sat quietly in the Hufflepuff Chaser's hand, and the Snitch, lurking behind one of the Gryffindor posts, stopped its frantic wing flapping.

The audience stopped yelling. The air was completely silent and motionless. Without any effort whatsoever, she had stopped time. She grinned further when she saw Minerva and Dumbledore peer at her from the next stand. She had chosen to exempt her matriarch and her mentor from the temporal hibernation of space.

She turned to look at them with a face that spoke of satisfaction soon to come and anticipation. Although the stand was far away, she could see Dumbledore raise an eyebrow very well.

"Miss Dawson!" he called "can you please represtinate the coarse of time?". His voice echoed in the stillness.

Clare looked at the pitch. She pointed a finger at the Snitch and dragged it magically to the centre of the pitch. _That should make it interesting_, she thought. Then starting to feel the weight of the huge amount of magic and the push of time, that wanted to move and die once again, she flicked her fingers a second time.

The sound wave was enormous compared to the previous silence. Everyone and everything returned to their previous functions, unknowing of the gap in time that had occurred, and that Minerva, Dumbledore and Clare had lived a few seconds more than they had.

The Muggle Witch felt rather fatigued, but she was not about to show it for the life of her. Especially because Dumbledore was watching her from the teacher's stand. She could feel his eyes on her.

The sudden appearance of the Snitch right in their midst didn't go unnoticed for long. Since the snitch was very volatile, nobody found anything strange in suddenly spotting it flapping (in a rather disoriented way, it seemed) at centre pitch; something Clare had counted on. Having rested against the railings for a few minutes and recovered her strength, she pivotted around suddenly, catching Dumbledore's glance, as he had been watching her. Just as the Gryffindor Seeker caught the Snitch, winning the house cup and sending the stands- especially the one she was in- into a hubbub of screams, yells and banging, Clare and her mentor kept their glance. Their eyes were locked, as though there were no students, no turmoil; as though the time was still inert. His eyes spoke of caution, preservation and worry. Her eyes spoke of will, courage and deep, deep anger.

The link was broken when Amanda jumped on Clare from behind and turned her around to join in the feasting. She gave the teacher's stand her back and didn't turn to look again.

"Albus, what is happening to that girl?" said Minerva, looking close to tears with the worry.

"She has just reached her limit of supportation" said Dumbledore sadly "Alas, we all have one. She has decided, from what I can deduce, to take the situation in hand. She knows she can do what she pleases now; she has realised her potential and released her powers. I fear, Minerva, because this might expose her."

Minerva looked at her feet.

"I tremble" finished Dumbledore- and his voice was indeed trembling for the first time in years- "at the thought of what the enemy would have done if he had a creature like her to his disposition"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

So it came to pass that Gryffindor won the Quidditch Cup for the first time since the departure of Harry Potter from Hogwarts. They were also in the lead for the house points with a healthy gap from all the other houses. The Quidditch team enjoyed a good number of attentions, and also a good party right after the match. The food was provided directly from the house-elfs, as Edward had become very friendly with Winky since she had helped him escape Filch's clutches during the preparations for the surprise party.

Clare didn't join in, although she did stay a while, having been dragged to the tower by the Gryffindors. Nobody bothered, quite the contrary; they were all a trifle disappointed to see her go. Even her accomplices. 

But Clare had other plans.

She went to her room, where she found her house-elf waiting for her with a red cloak. She wore it, and dressed the hood, and apparated directly to London. She lowered her hood and made her way unfearingly into the Leaky Cauldron. Her head high, her eyes a grey fire, she walked strait up to the counter.

"Are you the Landlord?" she asked the bald man who was noisily wiping some crockery, making the cloth squeak as he pressed it against the glass. He gave her a wrinkled toothless grin. Then again, with the low, flickering lamp light and the dark surroundings, she might have been mistaken.

"Aye, would you like a room young madam, or would just like a drink?' he asked nicely

"No thank you" she answered with dry politeness. Then she motioned him to get closer and said "I would like you only to show me up to Harry Potter's room"

"Blimey, I can't do that!" he exclaimed

"Hush!" keep it down" she said, looking around warily. The couple of tenants that had dared to look up quickly averted their gaze when she fixed them with a withering glare. Then she cautiously produced, from her inner pocket, the photo of Hogsmead, which she had brought with her.

"We are . . . friends. Very _close_ friends" she whispered as she passed it to him. His mouth- now she certainly could see that it was toothless- turned into a very round 'o'.

"I've seen this one" he said, giving her a saucy look as he bade her to follow him with a wave "There's `ne like it up in `is bedroom"

She knew she was risking her neck in this, risking big time, but she preferred dying to separate.

"He isn't here at the `ment" he said, putting his hand on the crome knob of the door, which had a shining `7` on it, and turning to face her "but he will come `ere for the night, no doubt"

"The night?" she said doubtfully. She scowled. She doubted she could stay that long. No one knew she had left Hogwarts, and Winky could say only so many times that she was in the bath, or sleeping. Of course people were bound to go looking for her in her room now that she had missed dinner.

Then again, the seventh years knew where she was, and they were supposed to play along for her for a while. Amanda and Edward had forfeited the feast {"I didn't want to stay there anyway" Edward had winked in Amanda's direction "Your office's more private"}, while Lin and Eliott remained in the Gryffindor tower, to divert any questions there, and Winky was in her room. She was well covered where theory came in.

The Landlord showed her in and closed the door. Clare looked around, then steadied her wand as she heard the old men walk down the creaking staircase. She did not know him, and although he hosted Harry's stay, he could be a spy for all she knew. When minutes flew by and there was still no sign of any assault on the room, or of any spy lurking in the proximity, she relaxed, nonetheless still keeping a mental guard of what was going on in the area of the corridor and the staircase.

__

Interesting, she thought to herself, _I never realised I could extend my senses._

Then she roamed around the room, passing a hand over the pillows and the sheets, picking through the clothes in the drawers, up-handing shoes and socks from the floor and neatly setting them in place.

The smell in the room spoke to her of him. Out of the wardrobe she took an outer-robe she had seen him with during the Christmas break- the one he had worn when, coming from the gates, they had met on the grounds. It was blue, open at the front with a row of silver buttons descending down the chest, these last ones covered by a strap of dark blue velvet that then proceeded to go down all along the hem. The buttons stopped a few inches from the waist, opening in an upside down V. The robe itself was ankle long, but opened in two flaps, the splits starting at the knee to give the wearer better mobility. Two silver frogs, each with a kind of family crest on it, joined two loops at the front as an ornament, at around the middle of the torso. It was sleeveless, allowing another robe or a blouse to be worn underneath, except for two straps of material that covered the shoulders and ended in a point, she ran a finger along the pointed hood, that looked like one of the Franciscan's order. Two strings dangled down at the front. When Harry had worn it, they had been tied in a long drooping bow to keep the top together.

He had looked everything but breath-taking with the black sleeves and beige trousers underneath, his green eyes reflecting a bluish hue from the robe.

She draped it around her and hugged herself, burying her face in the cloth and breathing in. Then she sighed. It smelled of lavender; it had been newly washed. As she stood, the shoulders of the robe drooped down to half her upper arm and the end of the robe trailed the floor behind her. There was a full length mirror in the room and she stepped in front of it looking at the robe enveloping her, her own grey robe blending with the hem of grey velvet.

She threw the robe on the bed and unbuttoned her own. It fell around her ankles and she stepped out of it. Choosing one of Harry's robes from the wardrobe, one of those that looked like a monk's garb, she draped it over her head. Then she folded the over-robe and hugged it to herself while she threw the red cloak over her. She then spread the grey robe she had been wearing on his bed, conjured a pen and paper, scribbled something, and put it on the dress.

This done, she disapparared.

Back at Hogwarts, she was in time to see Minerva closing the door to her room behind her.

"I is telling her you is falling asleep in the tub, mistress" said Winky, looking a bit apologic but smiling all the same

"That's just fine" replied Clare, taking off her cloak

"Ah miss! You is not wearing your own robe!" exclaimed Winky, her eyes widening

"He wasn't there and the Landlord told me he would have gone back only very late. I took a robe and a coat, and I left him the coat I was wearing. Don't ask me why I did it; I have no idea but I did it.

The robe he had taken, a bottle green robe, seemed to be slightly small. In fact, the sleeved were short, even for her, and the shoulders and length, instead of being huge and bulky like the over-robe, fitted her shorter stature rather well. Although the material was none the cheapest, in fact it looked like dress robes, Clare assumed Harry had been much younger when he bought this.

She spread the blue and grey over-robe on her bed, and once again recalled it on Harry, with the black sleeves, beige trousers and ankle-high dragon hide boots to go with it. The robe she was wearing smelt of lavender as well, not surprisingly, seeing it wouldn't fit him any longer. But he must have worn it at one point in his life. And must have loved it, to carry it with him even at London when he couldn't wear it any more. She wished she could have seen him with it . . . been a part of his life sooner . . .

"Winky" she said, peeling the robe off her "Hang this please- no, no, you aren't dismissed Winky-I'll put it one the bed. I just want you to hang it carefully" and she smiled while she put it on the bedding beside the other, for Winky to take; she had grown used to the house-elf's habitudes and fears

"Now I'm really going to take a bath"

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Harry slumped up the stairs with sagged shoulders. Work had never seemed more obnoxious and less appealing than now. Tom had said something about a `perfumed visitor`, but Harry hadn't the faintest idea what was the meaning behind his glinting eyes and wiggling eye brows.

The fished the keys out of his pocket and opened the door, dumping a set of papers he had under-arm on the desk and fingered the picture frame. He had made another copy of the Hogsmead photo, so that he could keep one in his room and one in his office. At least he could see her image if he couldn't have her by him all the time as he wanted.

Harry gave an annoyed scowl and turned around, grabbing some robes he always wore inside and went into the bathroom. Out and changed, he sat at his desk and began scanning through the pages of the three inch-thick files he had brought with him.

Deep into the night, when downstairs the grandfather clock boomed two in the morning, he threw his quill on the desk and stretched, popping his back. Then he shut the last file, having finally reviewing his office accounts. Irene had chosen a nice time to take a week's leave; the end of season book-check.

Yawning, he removed his spectacles and pulled his sweater off, changing his track pants for his pygama trousers, and pulling on a tank top. Then he pulled the bed curtains apart and dived in.

And shot right out again. He switched on the light, while having the desk lamp on, and put his specs on once again. He immediately saw what he had felt on the bed.

A grey robe of a cashmere-like material was spread over the bedding slightly crushed where he had lain down on it. By the tight waist and the low u-collar line, it was a woman's robe.

With wide eyes and a rush of blood to his face he checked the apartment all over, but there was no sign of the owner of the robe. Still blushing he paced around the room, rubbing the back of his head (muttering "perfumed visitor . . ."), as if he expected a woman to pop out of nowhere wearing a towel, or maybe (he wished) Clare to appear wearing nothin-

He shook the obscene thought (Not so obscene . . . there, he had done it again!) out of his mind and decided to pick the robe off the bed if only to do _something_. 

The material was indeed cashmere, grey and shiny to the movement, silken to the touch. It nearly looked like an invisibility cloak. It was completely plain, was it not for the black felt lining on the neckline, a tin line along a seam under where the breast would be, the waist and the skirt's hem. The sleeves were short, maybe reaching to the elbow, but one end was elongated and pointed. It was ver smart, however plain it looked.

As he lifted the dress completely off the floor, a piece of parchment floated to the ground.

"_I've borrowed some of your robes, as I couldn't see you when I came. I left my robe here for you, because I left wearing yours. I'd like to have it back, and I'm sure you'd like yours back too. However, I don't think I can nick out of Hogwarts again . . . I'm afraid that if you want your robe and over-robe back, you'll have to come yourself and take them from me_

After all, the ordinance forbade communication by post- it

Said nothing about the verbal one.

Clare (I love you, never forget)"

  
Harry took in a noisy breath and kept it in. He looked at the robe in his other hand and brought it up to his face. It had her smell. She had been wearing this, it had been _on_ her when she had entered the room- she had _changed_ in the room.

He once again attempted to banish the thoughts from his mind, if not for Clare, for the veins all over his face. The blood there- and in other places- was flowing to bursting point.

The robe . . . was hers. She had left it for him and after a quick check he discovered that she had taken his favourite clothes. She knew the blue over-robe was his favourite, he had told her in December. She had also taken his first official wizarding robe after his school uniform- his fourth year dress robes.

He had never seen the robe she left him. She had bought it from Hogsmead in the past month maybe?

He took the note in his hands again. The invitation was tempting, so much so he dearly wished he could go to Hogwarts that very instant, but he knew very well that he was watched by Unspeakables. They probably even knew she had been there. He hoped she didn't get into trouble for it

Take his clothes from her . . . and give her his robe back. Then take her out to dinner, then for a peaceful walk around London, or Hogsmead, and then . . . spending the night together . . .

He groaned at himself and put the dress carefully on the armchair. Then he made his way to the bathroom; he needed another shower- but a _cold_ one this time.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"You mean to say that say was in London? Today?" said Fudge, in a very agitated tone "Alone?"

"Yes Minister. Our agent number 6 saw her going into the London pub. He followed her in and the Landlord showed her up to room 7. Agent 6 went up with an invisibility cloak after about an hour, but the room was empty"

"This was so dangerous! And so imprudent! She could have been captured and it would have been the end of us!"

"Yes Minister" replied the agent "but this may be avoided. Agent 6 said that she left him a gift, and left him a not inviting him to visit her at Hogwarts. If he were left to go-"

"Enough!" said Fudge, his blood rising to his face "We should monitor him more rather, and I'll instantly write a letter to Dumbledore to make him take care of his charge better! Dispatch more men around Hogwarts, it's and order"

The other man nodded and left the room, while Fudge pulled out some parchment from the drawer and began to scribble furiously.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Miss Dawson" squeaked the house-elf, eyeing them warily "Professor Dumbledore is requesting you is going urgently in his office. He says; "Tell her come up to talk to me"

"Very well" sighed Clare, glancing at Hagrid to make he had heard. The big man gave a nod with his hairy head and turned to the students, who pouted when they saw her go.

The house-elf led her into the castle and up to the stone gargoyle. To the surprise of both of them, no sooner had Clare stepped in front of it, the statue sprang to life of its own volition. The house-elf bowed her in, as the gargoyle kept a safe distance. Evidently it had a memory, or she had implanted some strange personality magic through her hand, as it seemed to remember the sound slap Clare had donned it with on her last frantic visit to Dumbledore.

She let the steps take her up this time, being in no particular hurry. She did not know why her mentor had summoned her so urgently, and she preferred not to ponder on it, as all she could think of was more bad news. Then again _how_ could things possibly get worst?

Clare arrived at the top and used the knocker. The door opened on its own as usual. However, stepping in, she found a rather stiff- and was that anger?- Dumbledore at his desk.

"Take a seat, Miss Dawson" he said sternly. Clare sat, thinking he hadn't called her by name as usual.

"I am very upset with you. You have been irresponsible and careless in a way I would never have expected. Not even love is an excuse for your irrationality"

Clare blinked, as her mind clicked on her visit to the Leaky Cauldron the previous Saturday evening.

"Have you not realised the danger you have put yourself, and us all, by your actions?" he continued "You went into London-" bingo, she had guessed "- unescorted and unwatched, and deliberately asked for Harry Potter. We must thank the God that all went well and that Tom is anything but a traitor"

__

Tom? ,she thought briefly, then dismissed it.

Clare sat back in a relaxed manner. She had known this onslaught of chastening would have happened sooner or later, and she was undaunted by it.

"You have disappointed me. I thought you much more considerate. If you did not think of yourself or our country, you should have at least thought of Harry himself"

Her relaxed expression faltered into a slight frown.

"As you are in danger when connected to him, he is in danger when connected to you"

She frowned openly, looking at her mentor, as if he had betrayed her . . .

"He is already connected to the Muggle Witch, because they know he found her" she saw him blink at her detached way of referring to herself "and that's why I'm in danger when connected to him- they can think I'm the one they're looking for. What they don't know is that I _am_ that one, and so visiting him as an innocent and unknown teacher- no, assistant teacher- won't do any harm to anyone. Why, the fact that I'm out and about will make people suspect even less"

Looking at her mentor she knew that if he hadn't been the calm person he was, he would have pounced at her that minute. Basically useless, as she could stopped time before he had even stood up and calmly walk out, or simply apparate into her room

"I see you are decided" sighed Dumbledore

"On seeing Harry? Most certainly" she said determinately. A circle in the wrought iron frame behind her flared red, even though she could not see it. Dumbledore sighed again.

"Then this shall be the last time we talk. I would not like to part with you on this note, and I wish to tell you I will always be on your side"

Of all the things she was expecting, this was the last.

"Part with me?" she asked, very slowly

"I am afraid that after your slip, it seems my guardianship is not up to wanted standard. Also, your training is practically terminated, excluding some minor details. The Minister deems it opportune to transfer you to a safe place, at least by his bearing. From what I intook, you shall continue to refine your art in Norway."

And she saw red.

"Norway, he says?" she was so infuriated that she was _laughing_ "I am supposed to go to _Norway_ now? Oh, yes, what next? Will he move me to Tibet and shave my hair, or to a NAZA space station? No- no I know! I'll end up under the sea with the fish in a sub-station!" 

She heartily grabbed an onyx paper holder and magically disintegrated it.

"Clare, please-"

"Where is the Ministry?"

"E-Excuse me, madam? The Ministry?"

"Give me the bearings of the Ministry Headquarters!" she yelled

"The bearings? Surely you are not thinking of-"

"I _am_ and you are coming with me. You promised him a visit did you not? Now he will get it"

Very well" said Dumbledore "Lead us out of the castle, and then I shall take us both to the London"

She narrowed her eyes at him

"Do you not trust me?"

"It seems I have no alternative". Her mentor nodded, seeming uneffected by her insinuation

She grabbed his hand and looked at him

"Here we go"

In a wink of an eye, they were outside in the sunlight, with the gates behind them

"Now, Lady, hold on tight to me and we shall be in London instantly"

"Drop the `Lady`" Clare growled, grabbing onto Dumbledore's hand again

"But you are `Lady`. Taking over your powers, now you have become the Lady Muggle Witch, complete."

"Let's go" she said

The next thing she knew was a person bumping into her back, making her stumble.

"Watch where you apparate" he called to her over his shoulder. They were in a busy wizard street in London. Not Daigon Alley, but London none the less.

"Lead the way" she told Dumbledore

"We are there. Look, you surely can see-"

"The marble building?"

"Certainly. After you Lady". Clare simply stepped through the door without a word. Inside there was a wide, huge hall, with a reception box on one side at the far end and then a humungous lounge, golden chandeliers hanging from ceilings covered in filigree, opals, golden-sheet decoration and runic inscriptions. The floor was a highly polished champagne coloured marble, and there were blood red carpet and velvet curtains. Silver and jet, and black coral decorated every where. Four flags, England, Ireland, Scotland and Whale, hung at the four corners around the dark wine coloured armchairs, these standing on the red carpets, surrounded in champagne and gold, Silver, jet and black coral. No one was there.

Next to the reception box, there was a rich, red also, Persian looking carpet covering most of the floor, and next to it a tall, carved double door that led out of the waiting room. The receptionist was reading a book.

Clare walked right across the room and pulled open the door, finding little restraint from the wards and lock charms.

"Hey!" said the receptionist, standing up and knocking on the glass at the front of her stall.

"Fudge is expecting us" said Clare shortly, flicking her fingers and putting her to sleep, then proceeding down the corridor.

"We know our way in, this is urgent" said Dumbledore over his shoulder, attempting to give at least a partial explanation for their intrusive entrance, not noticing the receptionist was asleep as he rushed after his charge.

Clare was nearly at the end of the corridor, and knew exactly where she was going. Ever since Harry's party, when she had felt baby Timothy's brand of magic, she had privately taken to categorising the different magical stamp of every different witch and wizard she knew. She knew, and could feel, the definite magical impulse of everyone of her students, every one of them, her colleagues, and all of her group of friends. every witch and wizard had a different feel of magic- like a finger print- and she had learned to recognise each one. At that very moment, there were four familiar brands of magic in the building. Her patriarch and her mother's cousin where somewhere on the first floor. Their magic seemed to be coming from the same place, so they probably were in the same office. Percy was somewhere on a higher floor. And very close to Percy, there was Fudge. True to her luck, neither Ron nor Harry seemed to be in the building at that moment.

She stopped in her tracks when she felt Fudge directly above her. As soon as Dumbledore caught up with her, she grabbed his hand for the third time and apparated up to the top level.

Her assumptions had been exact. In fact, she opened her eyes to look directly into Fudge's frightened ones.

Fright soon turned into fear.

"Good morning, Minister" said Clare calmly

"What are you doing here?" stuttered Fudge

"Don't you dare talk to me like that" she answered casually, sitting down on a chair in front of his desk in ease. Dumbledore walked to the door and rested against its frame. He lit his pipe with his wand and smoked in silence.

"How dare you!" cried Fudge, although he didn't look as strong as his words "You are talking to the Minister of Magic of this country, not to your house-elf!"

"And you are talking to a Muggle Witch, it makes no difference to me if you are a Minister or a house-elf"

Fudge gaped. His face contorted, but she could not tell whether it was fear or anger.

"Of course, you know why I am here"

"You shall not give you what you want!"

"Indeed? Shall I _take_ it then?"

"I do not stand to be threatened! Dumbledore, you say nothing? Are you an outlaw too?"

"Outlaw?" asked Clare, in a tone that was more warning than inquisitive

"You cannot threaten the life of an authority without breaking the law" said Fudge, evidently gaining some spunk and courage from his own words.

"I cannot threaten an authority? Shall I remove you from the post of authority then?" she replied in a very diplomatic tone. However, her eyes were glinting with hatred.

"You can't! you-"

"I can as easily as I wink my eyes"

She waved her hand by the wrist. The Quill he had been holding between his fingers disappeared. Fudge jumped in his shoes.

"However, I'm rather reluctant to use my precious magic for such a matter as can be talked civilly"

"Talk civilly? You call threatening civil? You pop in my office, talk big words, and you expect me to relent because you disapparated my quill?"

"Disintegrated. Magic can break atoms. It _is_ in the atoms"

"You are threatening me with homicide! That is punishable even by the magical law! I'll call the guards directly and-!"

The wizard intercom he had been about to use exploded under his finger. He yelped like a bitten puppy. This intercom fizzed and spat, and sparked a blazing white light from inside.

"I can kill you in many ways"

He trembled

"I do not want your blood. I don't need it. I would like you to very reasonably remove the order to Harry leave me at Hogwarts. I will be very happe with just that."

"You can't- I don't- it's nearly- You turned against us!"

"Not at all, but if you insist on being stubborn and uselessly proud, I will be drastic."

"You daren't! You daren't! Dumbledore, say something! Or did YOU teach her to be like this! I know what you want! You shall not have my post!"

"Nobody wants your post" said Clare, losing patience "Leave my mentor alone. He's the one that kept me from doing this sooner. You should be licking his feet in gratitude"

Fudge had been cowering behind his desk. But at the mention of being grateful to Dumbledore, his rival, of humiliation in licking his feet, he rebelled to his wise fear.

"You base! You are nothing but a spoilt girl who wants to get all she wants, or else throws and tantrum" he stood up and began trusting a pointed finger at her with every word

"But-you-shall-not! Spoilt children need only a stricter educator! You shall do as I say! You are going to Norway TOMORROW, and you shall NEVER see Harry Potter again!"

"You're playing with fire" mumbled Dumbledore

"Shut your mouth! You! You are the one behind this! I know! You are no longer a Headmaster! You are a convict! I'll arrest you for treason! I'll-"

Fudge, red faced, suddenly stopped his tirade of threats and choked. He lifted a hand to his throat and tried to speak again, but all that came out was a whistle like noise of breath.

Clare was looking at him with utter hatred and disgust. She would not have looked in that way at a slug she had stepped on. He was human, and that made it worst, because he was fully aware of his actions.

"Lady-"

"I said drop the 'Lady`"

"As you wish. What have you done, Miss Dawson?"

"I have only removed his vocal chords-" Fudge's eyes widened and he began flailing his arm around and mouthing like a gold fish "- because I was fed up of hearing him ramble"

She turned to Fudge and he immediately froze. "Spoilt am I? Do you want me to show you how spoilt I can be?"

Fudge began to shake his head violently and mouth `no` with vehemence. However Clare had a hand around her ear and her eyes closed.

"No answer? Silence is ascent"

Fudge began to move frantically. He seemed suddenly on the verge of hysteria. 

"Fine then, your decision is taken. There are, dear Minister, so many ways of killing a man. You don't have to kill him at all. See me kill you and leave you alive, dear Minister" she flicked her fingers "Or should I say, dear Anonymous?"

Fudge just gaped- being able to do nothing else- and trembled.

The silence was broken when the door opened, letting in a very absorbed looking Percy, a box in hand, flipping through the printed pages inside. He was wearing a very prim and plain dress robe, probably the wizard equivalent of tie and suit.

Percy stopped short when he saw Dumbledore, resting against the door frame.

"Why good morning Professor. I was not expecting you before the afternoon. Take a seat I pray you"

Percy pulled the door shut behind him and walked in a few paces. He gave Clare a respectful smile, but stopped short when he saw Fudge, standing right behind the desk.

"Excuse me, but I would like to sit at my desk please" said Percy, politely but steadily "If you can please move, Mr . . .?"

Fudge could have fainted. He was as white as a sheet, but as it was, he began pointing as Clare, at the desk and then beating himself on the chest.

"Memory is fickle. No one in England remembers who Fudge is now" said Clare, looking at the flailing man.

"I fear I do not understand madam" said Percy.

"Don't trouble yourself Peter, it's a trivial matter. I'm sure a Minister of magic such as yourself has other things of a higher calibre to worry about." Clare answered curtly

At this, Fudge grabbed the plaque at the front of the desk and looked at it. It too said that "Mr Peter Weasley" was the "Minister of Magic, highest authority at the MOM of England"

Fudge put it down with a shaking hand, opened his mouth wheezed and began to cry with choked, hollow sobs.

"Oh dear, is anything wrong?" asked Percy in alarm

"No it's just a burst of gratitude" she answered. Then she turned to Fudge "Memory is fickle. It is easily modified"

"I'm afraid I still do not understand" said Percy

"Peace Minister" Clare told him, watching Fudge's face and leaking eyes turn to look as if he had been fed cod liver oil "It is nothing of importance. He is the homeless I wrote to you about. He seems to be mute, but from his gesticulation, I understood that he believes he is the Minister"

"Indeed" said Percy, narrowing his eyes at the sobbing Fudge

"I think it would be wise to have him cured, perhaps?" said Clare, a smile on her face that spoke of innocence, but that chilled the blood

"Lock him up, you mean?" asked Percy

Fudge gave a gurgling moan and collapsed onto the Minister's chair that had been his a split second before, but was not now his anymore. He had realised, the hard way, that he was everything but indispensable. He had pushed his luck to a limit, and had been killed- without dying. Who could he turn to? No one knew him, and who would accept an accusation of defamation or threat from a nobody? Moreover a nobody who had been declared deranged!

It was not her that had made him a nobody, but he himself, his own actions, that had driven him to become a nobody. She didn't need him. She was a Muggle Witch- the Lady Muggle Witch- and she had spoken rightly when she said that to her all creatures where equal. The Minister, a house-elf, a dog, a dragon, any minor or major beast made no difference to her. All where equal to her gaze. She was like providence, no, Nature- no! Mother Nature herself. Who gave and took according to behaviour with the powers of the planet. She was Benevolence, she was Element, she was Strength, Love, Courage, Noble Feelings- but also Wrath, Calamity, Tragedy- Punishment. She had all in her fingers and was all inside of her. He had mistaken her for the simple human her body belied her to be. He had forgotten the immense amount of magic she represented, but also the strength of a woman in love.

His sobs gave no sign of subsiding as these thoughts assaulted his mind.

"Do not exaggerate, Miss Dawson" said Dumbledore softly from behind her.

"You think it's enough?" asked Clare, looking at him from over his shoulder, never leaving her chair.

"I believe so. He shall be ready to sign his death sentence now, if you ask him" answered her mentor.

"Do not tempt me, Albus" she said, then she turned once more to the sobbing, mute, identityless man (and Percy was left blinking in confusion)

"Are you ready to deal with me now?" she asked him "Shall we find a compromise?"

These words were like a balm to his maddening mind. The Queen and Lady he beheld in front of him when he lifted his eyes was once more Benevolence, anger subsided. She was once more a patient mother who now wanted to see her silly, repenting child do the right thing.

He nodded fervently

"Fine"

She snapped her fingers. The world froze

"Now, you can talk" she said

"Thank you! Thank you Lady!"- she rolled her eyes

"I'll restore you back to your position, but only if you sign and make effective a counter ordinance for Harry's mail, _immediately_, and I shall **not** move from Hogwarts" Clare grinned evilly "Or, else . . ."

"Don't worry! Don't worry, I will immediately!"

"Excellent" said Clare. She snapped her fingers. Percy, the only person in the room to be effected by the time spell (she didn't need his nosy questions in the background while she talked.) looked extremely odd frozen in mid blink.

She pointed at the door, and the frozen Percy came to life, walked to the door, opened it, walked out and closed the door behind him.

Then she closed her eyes, breathed out, and opened her eyes again. Then she snapped her fingers for the last time.

The curtains fluttered back down to the sill as the wind began moving again. The silence broke as two birds continued their twittering flight, and the people below continued their errands.

"Everything is back to normality as you know it" said Clare, resting back in the chair "No one remembers what happened. It was easier for me to just erase my spell, and it's safer for you this way"

"Thank you! Thank you Lady, you are-"

"I did my part, now do your own"

"Yes, yes directly"

He produced a clean parchment from one of the drawers and wrote a short message

"Here, is it good enough?"

Clare snatched out the parchment. It said:

"I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic of England, order the restriction ordinance made for Harry Potter, the captain of the Hit Wizards section in the department of magical regulations be removed. The search on his mail is to be immediately lifted. Any disobedience of this order will be severely punished."

"Passable" said Clare, although her eyes betrayed her gladness "If anything should happen to change again, I'd rather you contact me before it takes effect. Remember that"

"Most certainly" said Fudge reassuringly

"Very Well" she said, standing up. Dumbledore stood and walked to her, offering her his hand "Remember" she repeated. When Fudge nodded, she continued "I could easily have taken over your mind and made you my doll. It would have cost me less energy. Remember, I speared you because I am _not_ against you. _I_ have nothing against you. I respect your authority and duty as a Minister. All I ask for is the one I love."

"I understand. I was foolish"

"But now it is all mended, and it's over. There should never be thrifts and misunderstandings like this anymore. We all have a common enemy, that is a match even for me. If we do not work together, we shall lose miserably. Come now," Clare extended her hand "I have managed to convince a centaur to be more cordial, shall I manage to convince a Minister?"

Fudge bowed his head and took her hand

"A Minister's duty is to take care nothing ever happens to his wizarding community. I am only a figure head now, because you are more of a Minister than I have ever been"

"No. You can be stubborn-" she smiled "- but you are kind a heart. You have not done any irresolvable harm to the country. You are kind at heart, and you're a good Minister. Now you will be an even better one"

He kissed her hand and let it go. She smiled at both men

"Thank you, Lady Muggle Witch"

"Goodbye, Minister of Magic"

They dissapparated.

Fudge grabbed the parchment on his desk and rushed out to deliver the order, but before he did not forget to stop and look at the plaque on his desk. Now it read once more "Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, highest post in the MOM of England" he left smiling

At Hogwarts, Clare and Dumbledore apparated in the Headmaster's office.

"Miss Dawson, I would like to compliment you on your excellent master of powers. I'm impressed"

"Thank you Mentor" said Clare wearily "But it still makes me very tired" she walked to the door "Excuse me, I need to rest"

"One more thing, Miss Dawson"

She turned to look at him

"I really appreciated the manner you parted with the Minister. You should think about the possibility of a diplomatic career in the future" His eyes were twinkling with mirth.

Clare's laughter, light and hearty, echoed down the mobile stairs.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

All the men around him began to move again. It had been difficult to refuse the inviting tickle of lull the seductive spell had offered. Even he, Voldemort, had been hard set against eh powerful magic. But it was not powerful in force. It was powerful in sweetness, in laughter- its power lay solely in pureness, that was as attractive and lethal as nectar of a carnivorous plant was to an incompetent insect.

Incompetent like all his men, even the strongest. They had fallen to the spell of a succulent temptress. She was manipulating minds now, to her leisure and pleasure. All his men had been effected. She had spelled the whole of the English Island. She was a formidable creature of the most powerful and enticing magic.

Had she been practising? Had she been just playing? Working on her magic or simply exploiting it; recognising her power and beginning to be infected by thoughts of conquest? That is how it had invaded him. A mere game, a fantasy where he was seated on a high throne, revenged and powerful, feared and obeyed. Then the fantasies had grown, multiplied and divided as though it was a living creature of its own brain growing inside his mind, developing into blind ambition and maturing into blood thirsty greed.

He looked around hi through his eyes. Magic. His eyes were magic also. He could see, smell and hear things other people could not even imagine. The taste and smell of fear. The shape of sound. The noise of scent.

He narrowed his eyes, and secretly thanked his father for having been the bastard he had been. It had made him complete- in his hatred.

"Stop" he hissed. And all the men stopped in their tracks, frozen, as they had been but a few minutes before

"What is it master?" asked the boldest of them. Ice-grey eyes stared out from behind the mask

"Do you, any of you, remember what happened a few seconds ago?"

Many of them looked at each other. The grey eyes looked on steadily at him in anticipation.

"Incompetent fools" he said. They flinched. "She has been on the move. Time stopped twice, and there was a memory charm working freely on all of your minds, as easily as though you were the lesser of muggle brats! My Queen has proven herself so to you without being here"

He turned from them and went through the tapestry that divided his chamber from main dome. He needed to be apart from the lesser men, because for the first time in his existence, he had found a creature whose magical powers were a match to his own, and instead of feeling anger, instead of being over-ridden by the impulse to eliminate the threat, he was overcome by an uncontrollable lust, a desire from his thirst for her powers that reminded him that he was a male. Never had his ambitions led him to lust. But the desire for that powers of the woman led him to the desire for the woman herself.

This made him all the more determined to get what he wanted.


	2. Pieces of the Mosaic Final Chapter

Note from Arwen of Imladris: ARGGGHHH!!! They deleted the rest of my fic!!! Wtf!!! I'm not good at pc language so I didn't understand a soddy thing of what was happening when it didn't let me upload on my old story. Well then, it turns out my poor fic has been totally removed. And I dnt have a saved version of it. THIS SUCKS!!

I appeal to you readers for help! If any of you have any of the chapters, or possibly all of them, saved on hard disk or diskette I would be obliged if you could send it to me on cairel@global.net.mt!!!!!!!!

****

Pieces of a Mosaic

Connieo Concinnitudo (II)

__

To bring together brings harmony, excitement and pleasure

_____________________________________________________________

The alarm clock began to bleep in its piercing monotone. The Digital Muggle numbers on the square device began to change colours as the noise it made got sharper and sharper.

A heavy and laggard hand slumped out from beneath sheets, dragging the arm it was attached to behind it. After two haphazard, vein, attempts, the hand slammed onto right button and silenced the offending device.

With a resigned huff into the pillow, the figure pushed off the mattress. The drapes on the window were closed, and the only light came from the lighted numbers of the alarm clock, that had now settled to a dull red hue.

The sleeper sat up, pushing sheets off his hair and pulling them off his boxers before he stood up. But immediately he stumbled into something and then fished something else from behind the box of the alarm.

Things finally came into focus for Harry. He kicked the shoes he had tripped in out of the way and stretched, popping his back. Then yawning and scratching his head in dejection manner, he walked around the bed and with his hand (no way was he going to stop scratching ) pulled open the curtain. It did not make much difference, as it was six in the morning and the hot May sun hadn't risen yet, although the sky was pink.

Still wearing a grinched up face as he sniffed at his nose that had blocked up during the night, he went into the bathroom and flicked on the light. The bulb like candles flickered away as he washed his teeth, hair tumbling in front of his eyes if he had cut it had cut it the week before.

He rinsed his mouth again and opened the taps for the bath tub, glaring at a bottle of "Slow Grow" hair potion on the shampoo and soap shelf as hair stuck to his wet cheeks. Then he closed the taps, passed his wand in the water (he hadn't bothered to calculate how much cold and hot and cold water was flowing out), put it on the shelf, peeled off his clothes and got in.

Usually a bath would have made him feel better. But he was far from any better when he got out, wet and dripping. He walked out of the bathroom, switching the light off and the light off and trying to pass a hand through his wet hair.

__

Yes, another black day, he thought, opening a drawer. Usually he would have taken out any odd top and then worn his favourite over-robe on top of it, but now that it was gone, he had to bother himself this early in the morning to decide what he had to wear.

__

Clare . . ., a thought he would rather concentrated on than anything else. She was the one who had the over-robe. Harry pressed the material between thumb and fingers. A woman's dress hung from a peg amongst the men's robes. Hers. Pearly grey, like her eyes. He knew her eyes were grey, although few others did. He remembered them, when in July they had smiled at him, and how it baffled him in December when he was the same smile set in an azure frame.

Her smile . . . He sighed and took another one of his robes out. This one was white, with a blue v collar and a blue top sawn to it underneath. It had white flowing trousers, tied with a string at the ankle, and the top of the robe went down at the back ending in a v. The front came down to the hip. Harry tied it with a belt at the waist, because otherwise it would look like a baggy night-dress. Figures Madam Milkins would think he looked good in "Oriental Style". Then he tied another belt, which was purposely made for an Auror, to the first. He latched the waist belt to the hook the Auror's belt had on one side, and let the other swing down to below the hip. There he had a pocket for the special Floo Powder he used to get into the Ministry grates, a wand-keeper- made in dragon ladder to contain any friction-released sparks, and also the Auror licence card.

With a sigh he listlessly passed a comb through his un-rescuable mop of hair and then left his room.

At the Ministry, his desk greeted him with pile upon pile of papers, because the Ministry had called on a general file cleaning (did they do it on purpose, when the Death Eaters were quiet?), meaning that all the Ministry staff would not leave their offices before 11pm at the earliest for the next two months. Harry and Ron spent their day watching the feathers of their quill wave lightly from one side to another while they filled in forms and re-checked files, while downstairs Irene looked for files that dated back to when they weren't even born. 

At lunch time, the break was short and sweet- the sandwich man came in with his trolley; they bought the sandwiches; at them; dusted the crumbs; kept on writing. They did this while the light coming from the window shifted; from white to yellow, from yellow to red and then to blue. Then to white again when Harry flicked on the artificial lights.

They left the Headquarters at one in the morning. The following day they were back at seven to face off with the humungous pile of paper work. Harry hadn't been bothered to force his brain awake and he had gone with the same outfit.

Half way through the morning, when Ron and Harry had begun to communicate in grunts like trolls out of fatigue, a messenger boy came in to tell them that the Minister had called them to a meeting.

Grunting all the more, they made their way to the top floor. They were guided by a secretary into the conference room, where seated at a long table were the Minister at the head, Percy to his right, Mr Moon- head of Mysteries Department- to his left, and several other Unspeakables of a lower rank. Their Boss, Old man Mundungus (Ron's words) was there too.

"Sit down Gentlemen" said the Minister. Two stewards pulled two chairs for the to sit on, across the table from each other. No doubt, so they could not communicate in whispers. Pathetic.

As Harry sat down, he gripped a hand around a box he had in his pocket. The presence of the Unspeakables reminded his forcefully of her. He just hoped she was ok.

"Mr Potter" Fudge began formally "Mr Weasley, we have summoned you here because we have discovered a lair of Death Eaters, one of the largest, in the heart of Dover. We want you, and these gentlemen here present to join forces now and co-ordinate a surprise attack on this den of outlaws. You, as heads of the two departments of magical law control and restriction, are responsible for the well-doing of this operation. I shall leave you and Mr Moon to discuss a plan of attack, while Mr Weasley and I shall attend some foreign guests who are awaiting us. We shall soon be back"

Mundungus did not wait for Fudge to leave the room to take the file containing the dossier on the Death Eater's base they had to attack. The papers were passed around all the people present, and Harry scanned them carefully, looking at the various entrances, the photos taken of Death Eaters strolling casually in and out, of the estimated amount of enemies that were supposed to locate themselves in the hide-away, of the photos taken of the Death Eaters of a higher rank that were captaining the base.

Mundungus and Moon had began to formulate a hypothesis of attack, helped by Harry, Ron and the Unspeakables present by the time Fudge and Percy returned to the conference room. Fudge sat down with a smug expression, while Percy seemed to be sitting on a porcupine. He looked extremely on edge and agitated, and kept glancing side-longingly at Harry.

The Minister had a bright and triumphant air about him and kept complimenting them all and assuring them that he believed in their validity. Percy looked even more worried.

"You must all go quickly now that the plan is made" said Fudge suddenly in an official tone "We all know we have another mole in the Ministry, and till now, only we who are in this room know about our discovery of this base, but the ears of the enemy are infinite. You must leave at once, so as to increase the possibilities of finding our prey there. Mr Potter" he gave Harry and especially proud look "The Ministry is counting especially on you. In past missions you have proven your valour, and we are in need of your talent today the most"

Ron and Harry raised an eyebrow at each other as they stood up. Mundungus began to talk to Mr Moon as they walked out the door, discussing in whispers and pointing at the ominous black and white maps and photos with people in black and grey mask walking in and out of them. The three Unspeakables kept together in a tight knit group, just like the girls had done before the Yule ball when Harry and Ron had been at school.

Fudge left smiling, wishing them all the luck, something that made Harry look twice, because Fudge was usually the incarnation of worry before a mission, in case anything happened and his public image was further degraded. Could he be so sure of their success? But that didn't make sense if he was sending them off so urgently- by how he had described it, it sounded like they were going to be faced with a 10 to 1 situation, not in their favour. What the heck was he _so_ happy about?

"Harry"

Harry jumped and turned to see Percy a few inches behind him.

"What is it?"

"Come into my office quickly, before Fudge comes out again. Now immediately- and alone"

Percy pulled Harry into his office and closed the door in Ron's face.

"Harry . . . I don't know where to start this . . ."

"Well, find a place or the others will leave without me"

"There you have it" said Percy "Harry, you would never abandon a mission right? Even if you had a personal business that was very urgent"

"You know I wouldn't leave my mission and colleagues. Perce, what do you mean?" answered Harry, frowning at the fishiness of the question.

"That's what that bastard's counting on" spat Percy in anger "And you can't skive this one especially because he blew it up and gave it to you in front of every one. You know Mundungus is just a figurehead don't you?"

"Oh, he's old and-"

"That leaves the Hits section all on you, and you have to go on this mission by force"

"Percy, wha-"

"What I'm trying to tell you is that this thing is all a fluke, a bluff! Fudge wants to have you out of the Ministry and out of the way so that he can do as he pleases without you interfering until its too late!"

"Too late?"

"He's taking her away Harry!" Percy grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him while talking forcefully into his face "He got to know of her little trip to see you in the Leaky Cauldron and he's carting her off to Norway!"

The ticking of their watches was very loud compared to silence that followed.

"Nor-way" choked Harry, totally stunned and shocked by the news. His hand gripped instinctively on the box in his pocket.

"Yes" replied Percy, still gripping his shoulders "The Foreign 'guests' who were waiting for us were the Norwegian ambassadors, and they agreed to take Clare to one of their hidden castles and continue her training under Von Strauder, the Minister and headmaster of the Vanderbourge school"

"She doesn't know how to speak Norwegian . . ." he said blankly. He did not know what to say, he was totally horrified and his mind wasn't thinking. His hand pressed on the wooden box covered in velvet felt, and the box nearly broke. He stopped, because what was inside the box was the most important thing in his life.

"Come back quickly, Harry" said Percy- he was begging him "Fudge is going crazy! Hurry up and come back. They're taking her tomorrow. She'll be leaving Hogwarts tomorrow at three in the morning and God knows when she'll be back! She may not come back at all for all I know except for the final contest!"

"I'm going to kill Fudge, Percy" said Harry, suddenly stiffening "and I won't go back on my word this time"

"No Harry! It's folly! Calm down!! You definitely won't be able to see her if you're in Azkaban!"

"Then what the hell can I do?" Harry grit his teeth so hard they could have cracked "He can't keep doing this to us! We never did anything to him- never did anything wrong! We only love each other! Is that a crime?"

"We both know all this is useless" said Percy urgently "I shouldn't be here, you shouldn't know. Yelling and fighting about it between us help- nothing can help at the moment. You have to go because Fudge will soon be out of his office- and he _must not know_ that I told you, otherwise he might even make the transfer earlier. Tell Ron- he'll help- and come back as soon as you manage. If you can't, invent something- Ron will cover. Don't worry about after- we'll hide you- we'll do something for you- we'll think of it ourselves. You just come back, grab her and go straight to the Burrow"

"Percy, I-"

"Don't say anything now, just go. I've known you since Hogwarts, and what with the year you lived with us, Mum and Ginny, I've come to think of you more as a brother than anything else. Ron would say the same thing. Now go- GO!- before Fudge leaves the office!"

Percy opened a thin door that led into a tiny hall in front of Fudge's office, peered in and saw the door ajar with shadows moving inside. He then opened the door of his study that led into the conference room. Ron's frowning face greeted him.

"What-"

"Shhhh!" silenced Percy, looking at the other door in the conference room, which also led to the hall in front of Fudge's office "He out yet?"

"No, the old prune's still moulding in his study" said Ron in an annoyed monotone.

"Good" he pulled Harry by the underarm and then nearly threw him out of his office "I never told you anything, we never spoke today and remember what it told you about timing. Now _go!_"

With that, he closed the door.

"Let's move" said Harry, in a voice that would have fitted one that had just been strangled. Harry ducked his head like a horse and pushed forward, not stopping his accelerated pace only when they had left the conference room and they had half the stairs of the building behind.

"Wait up!" said Ron, grabbing Harry by the shoulder from behind and shoving him against the wall of the staircase "What in heaven has gotten into you? You spend ten minutes with Percy and you look as if he raped you! If it's true, speak up, `coz we should tell Penny"

Harry gave a snigger and lowered his head further, letting his hair and spectacles' rim cover his eyes.

"If it was true, it would feel less terrible"

"Ron rested against the wall, standing on the step before Harry's. He looked up and put his hands in his pocket.

"Clare?"

"Yes. He's taking her to Norway- tomorrow. This mission is only a cover to keep me away from him, and her while he drags her abroad"

"Fucking Bastard" said Ron quietly "Don't come to the mission"

"You know I can't. Mundungus and Moon would have to make report and-"

"The report would come in AFTER! You'd be already God knows where"

"You have no idea what you're saying. We'll be with Moon and the Unspeakables. Fudge will know I didn't go on the mission before I get to Hogwarts and take her to the gates"

Outside, a cloud passed in front of the sun. The light that came down to illuminate the staircase dulled, and the surroundings became blue. Both men slid down the wall and sat down on a stair, the red head looking up, the scruffy hair covering his face as he looked down. The breeze that crept down the stairs and up their backs was fresh, common. Both men had a blank mind, unable, or unwilling, to think about the emnesm hurdle that they had to overcome.

"Percy said they'll be moving her from Hogwarts tomorrow morning. From what I got, it will be a rushed thing. Take her early in the morning before any students wake, train her to the next port-key and she's in Norway"

"So before tomorrow morning, nothing should move"

"No- but how long will this mission last? And now long will I resist? I don't know"

"We'll invent something, don't worry"

A gap in the cloud let the sun shine through, and the surroundings dazzled in bright yellow light. Darts of sun rays danced around the banister. Then immediately the cloud covered the sun again, and all their environment became dark.

"You know how much I have to concentrate during a duel"

"Yeah"

"I'll get something bad this time. My mind will drift. I don't even know where it is now. My head feels completely light"

Ron passed a hand through his hair and then squashed a bunch of it in his fist, then closed his eyes.

"You stay next to me. When the battle gets hot, you disapparate to Hogwarts"

"Percy told me to go the Burrow"

"Good thinking. Mum and dad will know someone, and if they don't, Mad Eye will"

Harry nodded

"Moody'll help. He knows of her, no doubt. Dumbledore surely told him, or I'm not a Weasley"

"Potter! Weasley! Where have you gone to?" Mundungus came puffing up the stairs "Get on with you will ya`! have yer beauty sleep another day when-"

Harry looked up at him

""Whoa boy, who died?"

"My cat" said Harry, pushing off the floor. Ron did the same, and they both walked wordlessly pest their boss, who stared at them with propelling eyebrows.

They found Moon and the Unspeakables waiting with an amount of Hits who had helped them on the case of the Knock turn alley was there too.

"Come on sirs" said Moon, and Harry, Ron and Mundungus grabbed a portion on the muddy boot that made the port-key. They left the Ministry for good.

Arriving directly on the site, between a 100 miles of the underground Death Eater cave. They all performed an invisibility charm and moved as silently as they could among the thick shrubbery.

The hours passed. Ron began to give Harry worried side long glances. Harry, on the contrary, used the time to roost a plan.

The group of men remained there all day, invisable as they were, watching the den with owls' eyes. Ron seethed within, watching the hours inexorably slip by as they awaited a movement, thinking of his friend's situation and wishing murder of fools was permitted. Harry, in contrast, was impassively cool, face cold, betraying no emotion. Soon, although time seemed both fast and slow, the sun's course began to lead it down words.

Then punctually, with advent of the night, seemingly out of nowhere, a man in a grey and black mask and shrouded in a black cloak stood in the middle of a shrubbery. They knew it was the entrance to the den.

Suddenly a gleaming green rope vaulted over his head and then fastened around his torso and arms. A glowing parchment with magical runes on it slapped onto the mouth-part of the mask. The figure squirmed and mumbled, and then disappeared altogether to the swish of a cloak. The Unspeakables had followed a scheme that Mundungus and Moon had concocted during the meeting. The First sentinel was down, with God knew how many to go.

Harry and Ron removed the spells for an instant, and their men followed them. Then they performed a collective- silent- incantation that made them invisible again, but now they could see each other. Harry pointed three of his men to Ron and the rest to Mundungus, who nodded them over. Ron's eyes went wide and he began mouthing frantically, asking something on the lines of 'what in heaven are you doing?'

"The scheme says I'm bait" he replied while he walked past him. Ron ground his teeth, remembering that particular detail of the plan that at that point hadn't seemed unusual, but that now took upon it the weight of the light of Percy's news. Harry had been used as bait on several missions, because he was an animagus and because he was the one who could manage a situation best. He had never been one to panic- he always kept his head, even when the situation got critical. But now they knew about Fudge's final attempt to separate Harry and Clare, it all looked like a plot to them; a further stone to the separation- it would definitely mean separation if Harry got killed on a mission. Ron seethed

Harry moved forward, Percy's words ringing in his ears "Come back quickly" His teeth together so hard that his jaw bone nearly cracked. He couldn't wait to get his hands on something- anything- to vent his fury on. He gave a sudden leap, and with a billow of cloak he was a black hawk soaring upwards. Then the hawk, with eased and innate grace swooped down and landed deftly on a branch, flashing green eyes, now spotted in amber and slitted to fit the body shape. Slitted eyes that could see what other could not. A mouse, sitting motionless under a leaf. Invisible as the grey of the shadows merged with the grey if its coat. A black beetle scuttled out of a hole in the bark and diving into another. It would have seemed to be nothing but a shadows in passing to the normal eye.

Then there was the black and grey mask, under the leaves, appearing and disappearing like a shadow in passing. So there were Death Eaters in the den.

He disapparated and apparated directly in front of the hole leading down into the gaping emptiness; the underground hide-away

With and angry ruffle of its feathers, the black hawk leapt up, just as Harry had done, and became Potter.

He stood there, like a statue. Waiting. This was not according to plan. The plan had said the bait had to be the thursh, but now he, Harry, was leading the game. Not Mundungus, not Moon, NOT Fudge, but Harry.

He folded his arms and waited. The leaves around him rustled, something like an underlying whisper. Maybe it was a whisper, the worried whisper of his men, who had never seen him disobey the scheme, and who to a certain extent cared as friends; the worried and angry whisper of Ron, who loved his acquired brother, and was angry at the circumstances that were pushing him to this extent; the angry whisper of Moon and Fletcher, who were just angry.

Harry stood there, notwithstanding the whispering.

All of it swirled around him. One of them whispered "Think of her" and then died with the others. All the leaves were instantly still. All the flowers stopped swaying. All the shadows stopped moving. All the shadows except one. One shadow flitted across the opening and then twirled. The sun light reflected on a black cloak- like a living shadow came to haunt and take.

"Potter" the shadow hissed- then pounced. Harry moved aside and the shadow fell over, rolled and got up. The shadow turned to face Harry, hissing like a snake uncoiling; hissing into the wind. Spitting, swearing.

The alarm was raised. The sleeping shadows roused. The plan, though shocked out of track, rattled back onto the railings. The rusty mechanisms and joints of the Ministry functions began to moved. Harry disapparated. Apparated. Disapparated. Apparated- every time a Death Eater pounced at him he did it. Now they weren't one, they were many. More and more, sprouting like a fungus, black and grey, billowing, pouncing, launching sparks, spells.

From the trees the attacks came. The Ministry forces were still more invisible than ever- a battle between shadows and nothingness, like a battle between light and darkness; day and night.

Out of nowhere, someone pulled him backwards, hand on mouth, on nose, dragging him backwards notwithstanding his attempts to restrain his captor. The arm around his torso tightened, winding him. But he didn't panic. He wasn't even afraid.

He was dragged, seeing the world moving backwards around him, into an inlet sheltered by two large protrusions in the rock face. All around them, the trees waved their hefty arms in a hypnotic dance

"Potter" -it was Mundungus- "By God, can I know what got into you, boy?"

Harry dislodged the old man's arm from around him and pivoted to face him and retort. He didn't manage a word.

"Don't you have `ny mind? `Ny love for yourself? Love for another?"

Love for another. Harry had plenty. He was drowning in it. it was choking him.

"Do you know what your leaving would do" - he knew- the laceration, like digging a hand into the chest and pulling out one's heart. The Departure of a loved one- "Don't you think of what it would do to the ones who love you? Weasley's your friend, ain't he? His familty love you too, don't they? Not to talk `bout the whole of England, boy! God, they love you so much they swear by you!"

Harry looked away

"Ya don't care, don't ya" said Mundungus again "They know the reasons behind it all, don't they? Let me tell you this boy, you're an orphan, but you're not alone. Isn't there one- one girl, only one, who matters to you?"

"Yes, there is one who matters the world, and you know what happened?"" - Mundungus suddenly burst in a cold sweat as Harry's face snarled into his own "They took her away from me- I can't talk to her- because I'm Harry Potter, and staying by me means danger"

Harry shoved forward and began to walk towards the field. Mundungus stepped back, but realisation dawned on his face

"No Potter, you aimed too high. Forget her"

Harry froze, then rushed forward, grabbing Mundungus by the collar and slamming him against the jagged wall behind him.

"How do you know? What's your business with her?"

A red blast streamed past behind Harry, hitting a tree to their left and setting it on fire. Harry's eyes gleamed in the hellish hue.

"Let me go" choked Mundungus. Harry loosened the grip, but kept a firm hold on his robes "I was informed to pass your post to Weasley- the vice- to check it out. Only we know, you, me, Fudge and Weasley- and she's safe, but you should forget her"

"For your information" spat Harry "she loves me as much as I love her"

Mundungus sealed his mouth

Harry let go of him and made once again for the field

"Don't die then, for her" Mundungus said. Harry stopped; turned around to glare at the shrivelled old man. Then he continued his routine of apparating and disapparating.

He had a plan in mind.

Ron began to follow his apparition scheme.

"What on earth-" they disapparated and apparated together in another place "- got into you"

"Don't start" replied Harry, dodging a punch at his face from a disarmed enemy.

"You made me pee in my pants!"

"Change pants"

"Don't pull my leg, tell me what-" they disapparated and apparated exactly 7 meters away "- bee's in your bonnet"

"You know". Both of them jumped up half a meter automatically as a jinx dashed by at leg height. Together they let fly a "Stupefy!" then kept talking

"You'll give Fudge a good help by taking yourself-" dodge "- out of his way"

"What?". They dived behind a rock.

"You definitely can't bother him when-" They covered their heads as a blast hit the rock and then they twisted on either side, responding to the fire "-you're dead, right?" Ron finished when they had their backs once more to the rocks.

"I'll get Moaning Myrtle to show me how you remain a ghost" replied Harry

"Oh, and I expect Clare would really enjoy knowing that you were two-timing her with a spotty transparent wailer"

"Oh shut up"

"I will when you see reason"

"Potter, Weasley, scheme three" Moon yelled

They went invisible and retreated into the woods.

"Just what needed" said Harry's voice

"What is it you have in mind?" repeated Ron's

"Look" Harry's voice lowered into a whisper, another whisper among the leaves "Haven't you noticed my moves?"

"Yeah, they're the evasive scheme me and you invented no?"

"Exactly"

"And that means . . ?"

"There is no better place than a battle field to . . ."

"To what?"

"Don't you remember, what Moody always told us during training? There is no better place than a battle field to . . ."

"By Merlin! I remember! To-"

"Shush! There, you got it, great, now keep it in."

"Right, and what after?"

"Don't know." 

"Didn't Percy say Burrow?"

"No, `t be guarded"

"Herm's parents?"

"Good one, I thought of Remus"

"Potter, Weasley, where are you!"

"Let's move"

There was a rustling of leaves as they invisibly moved

"So- your plan remains?"

"Don't know. You're with me now?"

"No kidding. When wasn't I?"

"No kidding- in fourth year with goblet of fire"

"By the dienty! You're going to throw it at my face for the rest of my days?"

"Why don't you shout a little louder? Maybe there are still a couple of Death Eaters who didn't hear you"

There was a wheezing noise, like an angry breath pushed through barred teeth.

"You're being so stubborn, closed and damn secretive about all this, like you with all the things regarding your family.

Harry's voice sighed. Twigs moved and leaves rustled as the two invisible figures climbed up a tree.

"We're family too" grunted Ron, tumphing his backside on a sturdy branch

"You are, but -"

"No but! We _are_ family, don't you dare say no after all the thick and then we've been through. You know the only reason why I quarrelled with you back then because I was afraid Hermione would decide to look at you inside of me"

"I was just going to say 'but she's family too' Ron"

"Oh" said Ron's voice. Followed by "OH! You don't mean-"

"Shush up there! This isn't a tea party"

"What are you doing here, Dan?" said Harry's stiff voice.

"Mr Potter! I-I'm sorry sir" answered the bodiless voice.

"You shouldn't be anywhere close to us. You should be with the ambush, Michel- scheme three we two are baits. Now go."

"Yes sir- but I can't see you, so-"

"Go, I said!"

Ron followed Daniel Michel's movements with his ears, while Harry's eyes followed a black shadows moving towards them. Now they were three shadows, four.

"They're coming"

They jumped down and removed the invisible spell

"So, tell me again, you're going to . . .?"

"Evasion"

"Got it. See you at the Grangers'"

The night was falling. The red light became grey. The woods lit with the lights of lashing spells like torches in old forsaken temples.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Did you get the strongest feeling just now?"

"Like what"

"Like you forgot something that never even existed"

"Er . . . don't I always?"

Remus Lupin threw a quill at his friend Sirius across of him

"Never a time when one can speak seriously with you" sighed Remus

"I keep my serious moments for Harry. He needs them more than you do"

"That's an improvement"

"What do you mean by that?" 

Remus just smiled. Apart from the fact that what Sirius had said was the plainest sacred truth, he hadn't answered that comment with the old smart alek remark. Although his sarcastic humour, meant to pinch in a friendly manner, had returned after his name had been cleared and he could put his nightmare of Azkaban behind, the lack of the classical "I _am_ Sirius" was a note of deep change. Of embetterment. Through suffering, but embetterment.

"But Harry is not here now, and I need some of your 'pearls of wisdom'" answered Remus at long last, feeding Sirius some of his own medicine.

"Ah! So you do finally acknowledge me wise! I am content! I shall die now happy" replied Sirius instantly. So much for embetterment.

"I think my cousin has been fooling around."

That instantly quitted Siruis' spirits.

"What makes you think that?" he asked Remus slowly

"I told you- I feel like my mind has been tempered with. After being a werewolf for most of my life, I have learned to trust my instincts"

"Why her though?"

"Who else could temper with my memory with indirect magic like her when I'm in London in my office and she is miles away?"

"True, but what exactly are you feeling?"

"I told you. Displaced- like there was a sudden a gap- like I felt someone push me, I looked around but I found an empty room. A gap, a missing sequence"

Sirius scratched the underside of his chin.

"Now that you mention it . . . an unease . . . I feel too. A quite promanent unease, at the back of my mind"

"Precisely"

The buzzer on their table rang noisily

"Hello, it's the office of Black and Lupin" answered Remus

"It's the secondary reception here on the third floor. Knaven asked if you know where Mundungus is"

"You heard that?" Remus whispered to Sirius, letting go of the button so that the reception couldn't hear

"Tell them- we know, the research floor should know too, although it sounds fishy . ."

Remus nodded, then said into the device "He's no not in the building. He, Moon and the Unspeakables, and the top Hit Wizards are out. We don't know where they are however"

"I see. Thanks anyway". The gadget bleeped loudly until Remus let go of the button.

"Care for any lunch, old man?" asked Sirius, standing up from where he had been sitting

"I'm your age Sirius" retorted Remus absently

"But you look much older, with your venerable white hair" chuckled his companion

"If you say so" muttered Remus, his mind still on the previous conversation

"Come on, come on!" said Sirius, throwing an arm around Remus's neck and ruffling his neatly parted hair "We'll investigate. You know we have the right ponds to fish in"

"Alright, you're hungry"

"Amin'th I always?"

Keeping their soft laughter behind shut mouths, the two middle aged men left their office, one with the other patting him on the back

"They took the port key to the bottom of the stairs (magical elevators where still in process of completion) and left to have a light meal.

On their way out, as they were passing through the sumptuous entrance hall, a very disgruntled receptionist cut across their path with a pile of box files on her outstretched arms, grumbling haphazardly to herself.

"That Dumbledore . . . geezer . . ."

"Excuse me" asked Remus, stopping short and pivoting to look at her "Did you mention Albus Dumbledore"

"Yes, do you want me to start on some _more_ extra research?"

"No, not at all" blinked Remus " just wondering why old Headmaster should be bothering your tongue"

"Oh that's so simple. This morning he dived in here following an intruding girl. He said _MR_ Fudge was expecting them, and when I asked him about her after, when he came down to meet the foreign guests, he snapped at me to shut the trap and gave me all the extra work you can get `to keep me occupied`"

I see" said Remus, his eyes and Sirius's lit at once as they added Dumbledore to weird girl to Fudge to unsettling feeling Remus had had all morning. The only answer could be-

"Did she have red hair?" Remus asked

"Oh yes she did- no one could miss a hot head like hair, in all senses" she replied, shifting the weight of the box files from- one arm to another "How do you know?"

"We saw her passing" interjected Sirius "We're leaving you now Madeline, we're off to have lunch"

The receptionist went away in a huff, resuming her parody of mumbling. Remus and Sirius , wide eyed, rushed out of the Ministry building into the busy London street.

"I can't believe it!" squealed Sirius "She was _here_, she actually-_came-here!_ Lord! And I would think Fudge would be nervous in the least to find her in front of him!"

"Keep it down"

"Yes, you're right, sorry." said Sirius, resorting to a whisper "But you too! Putting your foot in your mouth like that! You can't miss the `Evans` red hair, what possessed you to ask?'

"I wanted to make sure it was her. She is my cousin, after all"

"More than a cousin, you treat her like a daughter" nagged Sirius

"So do you Harry" answered Remus

"Yes, but Harry doesn't have a father, while Clare does"

"Not a magical father" Remus said again "And don't come and tell me again that she's your filial. This time, I'm taking my cousin under your wing. Sally and George are good parents, but they can't help her now"

"Alright, alright old man! Don't bite my head off" Sirius once again threw his arm around Remus's neck "I know how much you care for your little acquired cousin. Let's do this- I take care of my `son` and you take care of your `daughter`"

"Actually, at the moment I'm more concerned about her plunging through the Ministry like a storm in summer, or so Madeline said" muttered Remus

Sirius opened his mouth to answer, but someone called him from behind. They turned around to see a breathless and confused looking Arthur Weasley

"Mr Black-"

"Arthur, you can call me Sirius. For Heaven's sake, you helped me hide!"

"Well, ok, Sirius, but I only wanted to give you this"

"Huh?" asked Sirius raising an eyebrow as Arthur handed him a sealed envelope.

"Percy told me to give it to you just now, and ah! Mr Lupin-"

"Remus"

"Remus then- I have a letter for you too. I've had it for a while, this one, but I haven't seen you for a long time. It's from Ron. Don't ask why my sons are writing to you, I have no vague idea in the seven heavens"

"It's alright Arthur- they're probably confidential Ministry letters. In these cases, it's always better to deliver the letter by hand. It happens to us quite often actually" said Sirius, putting the letter in his inside pocket

"More often than not, in these times" sighed Remus, turning his letter over and over.

"If you say so" shrugged Arthur with a sigh "Nothing shall ever surprise me anymore as long as I live. I hoped to see no more bad times, but I've lived to see them twice already"

"So have we Arthur" nodded Sirius ruefully "So have we"

Arthur Weasley left with a sigh and a wave. Remus, who had looked the letter over and over and seen no sign of writing on it, looked suspiciously at Sirius

"The usual procedure?" asked the other

Remus nodded, delicately put the letter down on a low fence of a café next to him, and with great care ( thankful for the colourful flower bushes that decorated the café's outer tables' border and covered him) he tapped three different places of the letter lightly.

It glowed briefly, but it didn't burn and shrivel as it would have done had it contained a curse.

Remus picked it up and nodded Sirius to a quieter place round the corner. As soon as they were in the alley, Remus popped the seal- which was just the ordinary wax seal with the Ministry crest, without any family mark on it- and took out the folded parchment.

"_Professor Lupin_" he read out loud. A smile crept on his wrinkled face

"_This is Ron Weasley- the real one don't worry. I know about the little detail of my bachelor's party, the one on the boxers ("Oh I remember that one alright" guffawed Sirius), and NO ONE knows about that except you, Sirius, Harry and me (I hope). I wrote this to inform about the recent happenings concerning Harry and Clare._"

"Blimey Remus" hushed Sirius "Whisper it out from here on will you? This is important"

"_No doubt you have been receiving some strange letters from Harry recently. Believe me, I see him every day and every day he looks different. That girl's changed him drastically and he's doing crazy things to try and get back to her. In fact, his behaviour is what I'm writing about, and I'm telling dad to deliver this to you, it's safe to talk about it. Professor Lupin, I'm extremely worried for Harry. Since Fudge put that stop to his letters to Clare, he's going crazy. At work he's distracted and irritated, and he's not hiding it well enough any more. He's had months of it, and its beginning to get at him._"

"This sounds more than serious, it sounds like something vital" remarked Remus, stopping a second to reconsider for a second what he had read.

"Continue" urged Sirius

"_Well, actually, what I think is happening is that Harry and Clare are fat-heads_"

"It's Ron alright" snorted Sirius

"_because they've decided to run off_"

"What!" exclaimed Remus

"Read on! Quickly!" replied Sirius, looking as worried

"_Actually, I'm not sure about anything. Heck, I don't know a thing of what's going on these days. Mundungus keeps coming to our office and asking Harry what to do and putting the lot on his shoulders. He's strong, but everybody's got a limit. He's worried about his stuff, Mundungus comes in and gives him the work of a whole department. However, I haven't known Harry for all these years without learning how to read him. He'd do anything to stay with her, and I doubt there's any difference on Clare's part. This may sound crazy, but if you think of it, it's the only thing he can do. He's disparate to be with her, and he's only waiting for the last straw._"

"Good God. This out of this world. Those two can't have a peaceful life! It's outrageous" growled Sirius.

"And most outrageous is that its not Voldemort this time, but the Ministry itself" muttered Remus, changing to the second leaf of the letter "Then all this wasn't just in my mind"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that a few days ago- last Saturday I think?- I received a letter from Harry asking if in an extreme situation I'd offer shelter. He didn't tell me _what_ extreme situation, but it asks for shelter, that's ink on parchment. It made me think exactly what our Ron is suspecting here."

"Oh damn. This is very worrying indeed! Why for Merlin's beard didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't supposed to tell any one, not even you. He wrote that you'd be the one they'd check upon if he disappeared"

"He's bloody hat right"

"_What I'm afraid of is that they'll do something stupid to get that simple little privacy they deserve. I don't say I don't agree with them, but I'm worried sick of what could happen to them if their too rash. Remus, to say the truth, I'm scared stiff. Hermione Harry and me were a team. Hermione was the methodical one, I was the hot head and Harry had both courage and mind. I was the one who was rash, and seeing Harry lose that integrity and control has pushed me off my rocker. I hope you'll be able to help me out on this one, because I can't convince that idiot that he mustn't do something do something stupid when I shouldn't even know he's going to do something stupid. I'd be obliged if you can come up to our office and have a chat with him one of these days. It really would help a great deal_

Thanks anyway

Ron Weasley

P.S. don't tell him I told you to speak with him, `cos he'll chop my head off"

"Now I'm worried" said Sirius sarcastically.

"That's an understatement" replied Remus, more sarcastically still. The lines on his forehead deepened and a vein throbbed on Sirius's neck.

"When was this written?" asked Sirius urgently

"The date here reads Friday 7th" exclaimed Remus "Today's already the 11th! We may be too late to dissuade Harry!"

"If I know Harry, he does have something on his mind" scowled Sirius "However, Harry has always been more cautious than James, and I don't think he'd risk leading Clare into danger"

"I think his blood is catching up to him if this letter speaks right. You may be right, but Harry is . . . a Potter. Don't you remember when he thought you had killed his parents? He stopped in front of nothing, and he would have killed you hadn't his conscience and intuition stopped him. Moreover, he was only thirteen back then, a boy. Now he's a man with steady set mind"

An evident spasm of pain momentarily clouded Sirius's features as he recalled his fearful time as an escapee of the terrible creatures.

"But then, he let me explain and let me go after. He saw the truth and acted accordingly" he then replied thoughtfully

"We showed him the truth. No matter how old Harry grows, we're going to be older. We have to guide him, and Clare too"

"But we can't leave the bloody Ministry" seethed Sirius "They'd notice we're gone, and I don't want to end in Azkaban again"

"What has Azka-"

"Imagine an emergence crops up while we're not there, and no one knows where we are. We'd be listed suspects as easily as you drink water. Fudge can't stand our guts- especially MY guts- for being Dumbledore's men, and I've never been a lucky man in my life"

"I understand" nodded Remus, biting his lip "but what if delay costs us Harry? What if it costs us both our protected?"

"No, I trust Harry" said Sirius strongly, as though he were convincing himself

"I trust Clare too, but they are young and in love. There isn't more dangerous a combination"

"Let's go back immediately; in this way we can finish the work we have to do earlier and sneak up to Harry's floor. If they get back today, that is"

"The most we can do is pathetic" said Remus, his forehead still folded in his anger at the impossibility of moving

They dashed out of the alley, Remus hiding the compromising letter in the innermost pocket of his robe and headed back into their office.

___________~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Look Amanda, that is not enough to cheer her up" frowned Edward

"More than cheering , we'll need something like a balm potion" commented Jim

"Now you and your potions study! What does a calming broth have to do with the situation?" retorted Lin

"Have you possibly not noticed? Her magic was rippling off her like a volcano in eruption. She might have looked calm, but she was everything but that. For heaven's sake, I'm muggle-born and I saw it!"

"What-"

"Her anger is blistering. She's hurting herself" said Eliott shortly

"Anger?"

"Holy Merlin's gnawed up hat! This morning at breakfast, didn't you _look_ at her! She seemed calm, but she could have set a hippocampus in the lake on fire if she had looked at it with those blazing eyes of hers. She's keeping it in and it's not doing her any good! Wake out of your little tainted minds"

"Well, not all of us are as illuminated as you are" said Amanda "_I_ have no ancestors who were magical mediums, so I'll just say you're right"

"So our idea of a party in Hogsmead blasts?" asked Lin

"I think she's blast _us_ if we'd even propose it" sighed Jim "None of us can give her what she really wants"

"Well, `blast us`, really. I do think she's exagerating a wee bit with her tempers" said Edward

"Oh yeah?" said Ann "I'd like to see you, kept away from the one you love by a stupid piece of paper"

"Ann's right" said Lin "and you of all people should know about rage and frustration. We've had to bear _you_ often enough"

Edward opened his mouth to answer

"London" Eliott cut him off

"What?"

"I just thought" replied Eliott "She went to London last Saturday no?"

"Oh God, you think-" whispered Lin

"I think you mean it had consequences?" said Jim, his brows creasing worriedly

"But what could they do more than they have already?" asked Edward, throwing his hands up

"Transfer Harry for example" said Amanda feverishly

They all turned around to look at her

"I've heard of Ministry officers who have been sent abroad. They're usually the best ones" she continued

"But no, we're being too pessimistic. Fudge would never transfer Harry with _You-know-who_ still around. That would leave him without his best ally"

"Unless Harry's resigned" said Eliott

"But then would Clare be angry? I mean _this_ angry?" Jim corrected himself when they all opened their mouths together "She WOULD be angry at what Fudge made him do, but she would be at least a speck happy because she could see him"

"No, it doesn't stand" said Lin "If Harry had resigned, he'd be here, and we wouldn't see Clare around at all"

"Here? With all these eyes?"

"Aurors now how to hide"

"In that case, he could be here and we don't know"

"And Clare would look like an over-loaded furnace?" said Ann "I don't think so"

"They couldn't have fought again!"

"Oh dear, you don't think he's been arrested do you?"

"Really! Whatever for!"

"Lord, he can't be dead can he!" exclaimed Amanda, standing and clapping both hands on her cheeks

"REALLY Amanda, you're TOO drastic!"

"Hold your horses everyone!"

They all looked at Eliott as he stood up

"What's the date today?"

"Tuesday 11th. Why?"

"Because we have our finals next month, and we will not help Clare by failing. We have to cheer her, but we also have to think of graduation"

Edward and Amanda each threw a cushion at him, but Jim put his hands up

"Eliott's right. We have no chance to think of the various possibilities and explanations for Clare's anger today. We have to think of ourselves too. I'm sure Clare would only get angrier if we all failed because of her"

They all sighed, and mumbling returned to their work. The common room was not very populated, because with the examinations ticking closer, the most frequented quarters of the castle were the library's.

The sand crept down the hour glass as Eliott watched it. As the last grain fell and the magical mechanism turned the hour glass, the big clock of the common room marked 8:31pm. Then Eliott too turned to open book on his lap Ulric the Oddball . . . 

_______________*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Look out!"

Daniel Mitchell dived at Ron just in time as a red beam whizzed by. Ron immediately stood up again and looked around for Harry. He couldn't see him anywhere

"Oh damn" he swore "Curse it! where did he go now?"

"Are you ok?". Ron turned around to look at Dan

"I'm fine. Thanks Dan, this is the second time you save my backside"

"It's alright Ron; if we don't look out for each other out here, who will?"

"Yeah. Back in Knockturn Alley I'd have left my head behind at the entrance if not for you" said Ron distractedly, keeping his eyes on the surroundings, scanning the battle for any signs of Harry "Do you think they'll last long?"

"Long enough" growled Dan, stunning a Death Eater squarely in the forehead as he passed by

"Damn bone headed mongrel's left me behind" mumbled Ron angrily

"What?"

"Nothing, what's the time?"

"It's one in the Morning. Blimey, we've been here for nearly 24 hours already"

Ron kept looking around. He then finally spotted Harry. Harry was looking at him, rested calmly against a tree. His robes where white, but he had transfigures a cloak out of something. A black cloak, with a long cowl covering his face. He slipped an arm out from underneath the cloak and gave a short dry wave. A blast past by him and illuminated the area. His spectacles gave a short glint as he smiled, and then he was gone.

"Good luck friend" muttered Ron. Then he turned to join Dan in the battle-field

__________~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Clare looked at herself in the mirror of the bathroom adjacent to her bedroom.

Her flowing red hair fell behind her back in a wavy stream. Her own grey eyes looked back at her. She rested her hands on the vanity and leaned forward. The satin night-dress changed shape as she moved.

She had no idea what possessed her to buy it (apart from Amanda nagging), or to wear it tonight. Sleeveless, thin straps holding it up, a low v line in the middle. Clare stepped back. The night-dress went down to her ankles, but a rather audacious cut went all the way up to her thigh.

She sighed, shook her head at herself and left the bathroom ("Turning some heads, you are, tonight" said the mirror)

"You is looking very pretty" commented Winky as Clare closed the bedroom door behind her.

"I'm glad that you at least are here to say that, although I don't feel too pretty myself" said Clare with a little laugh

She sat on the trunk at the foot of her bed, the window was open, and although it was May, a chilly breeze was coming through the flimsy curtains. Winky had stoked up a very small fire at the back of the grate, and was attending to its size to keep the room temperature balanced. Not that Clare couldn't fix the room temperature with a flick of her small finger

Clare could do anything. _Anything_. Except perhaps bring people back from the dead. Perhaps.

Lily was already alive again in her own strange way. She did not know what colour Lily's eye's had been, but the hair that now fell around Clare's face and shoulders was not Clare's for sure.

But she wasn't happy. How could she be, when the prettiness everyone praised her was not her own? The powers everyone revered her for where so terrible?

Using her hands, she pushed herself backwards onto the bed. One of the four posts got between the fire and herself, casting a shadow over her. Her eyes immediately began drooping. She was tired, very tired, and the reason for her fatigue was evident. It had not been easy on her to undergo the morning's ordeal. On Tuesday 11th at 12:30, the `Lady Muggle Witch` had given a debut of her powers- terrorising the Minister in his own office.

She turned away from the though, and slid off the right side of the bed to go the windows. A smile came to her face no matter how much she tried to suppress it. an owl had arrived shortly after she had returned to Hogwarts from London, carrying an official order of transfer. However, it was immediately joined on her lap by a second Ministry owl sent by Fudge himself, apologising profusely for not having stopped the owl's departure on time. Neither of the owls wanted to leave, and they made quite a show of nuzzling against her belly as grindilaws squelched against the glass. The third years, whose lesson had been interrupted, were having an extra lesson from two to three (surprisingly they had suggested it themselves), and they all googled at the roosting owls.

"Are they Ministry owls?" asked a small Barley boy "I think they are- dad gets them at home"

"Oh yes, all teachers get them from the Ministry and the school governors. We _are_ paid by the Ministry after all"

Fudge had been so scared he could have peed in his trousers. The windowsill felt cold against her arm as she rested against it. Some of her hair got into her face and she closed her eyes. So that was the way it had to be for her? Immense powers she could control with a single thought, able to give her all she wanted, all desired and more?

That was why all the protection and precautions. That was why Voldemort wanted her as his partner. She shuddered- not with his name, nor with the cold breezing, but with the horrible prospective.

. . . "_You've turned against us!_" . . .

Could Fudge be right? Albus hadn't said anything, hadn't said what she was doing was wrong. On the contrary, he had seemed proud of her and had taken to calling her `Lady`. A title she'd denounced not only because it sounds stupid to her in the anger of the moment, but also because what she was doing, deep down, felt everything but noble and right.

What would Harry think if he knew? And he would know, because he would receive the removal of the restriction ordinance, wonder how the miracle happened, and the dig around the mine to come to the conclusion. He would find out, she knew him well enough. What then? Would he scorn her? Would he think of her as merciless and careless? As . . . cruel? Maybe even an enemy to pull out before the roots went too deep?

Would the spell break then? Clare was afraid, very much afraid, that she had involuntarily, during her time of pre-training with Harry, cast some sort of love spell onto him. Now that she knew the extent of her powers, she could not be sure that when she had known nothing about them, when she had no control over them, they hadn't worked by feeding on her thoughts and emotions, without her knowing. Of course there was the prophesy, saying they were meant for each other, but they had already made the mistake once, proclaiming Lily and James fox and raven.

Clare looked out of the room at the moon and the stars. She had been attracted to Harry immediately. As soon as she had seen him spread on the bed, white as the sheets he was on, hair black, light and velvety, she had felt like sitting beside him and spend her life looking at him. She had passed her fingers through his hair, over his scar, across his chest as she checked him for injuries.

Had she put a spell on him in those moments? She could never be sure, but she was sure that she loved him, she loved him unbelievably. 

Clare rested her cheek on the freezing sill. The breeze carried the smell of dew-wet leaves, of the lake water, of flower pollen in flower air. Hogwarts and the wizarding world were so beautiful to live in, but at once so complicated. Magic could make everyday life better, but in the long run, the problems only increased. Sometimes she wished Harry and she were only normal, standard, magicless humans. Then again, remembering Harry's providential escape from his very, _very_ normal, standard and strictly magicless life, she thought she was being selfish.

Selfishness led to greed, Greed led to ambition, Ambition and greed led to ruthlessness.

This morning she had been ruthless. But the path that had taken her to ruthlessness had been anger. Yet if the end was the same, did she classify as selfish and greedy anyway?

Maybe Harry didn't want . . . the risk? What if Fudge, now humiliated, turned on Harry to take his satisfaction? Would Harry regret her actions if his career got compromised?

So she'd been selfish alright. She couldn't go around terrorising people with her powers every time she they did something she didn't like. She would be no better than Voldemort, who did exactly that.

Winky put a small hand on her knee and shook her slightly. The difference in temperature between Winky's hand and her skin made her shiver. The icy sill and the cold wind had been chilling her, and lost in thought, she hadn't noticed.

"Miss, it is late, and you is needing to rest. Winky is remembering you has lesson in the second hour tomorrow"

"Right you are, Winky" sighed Clare. What was the point of worrying if the deed was done? It was in the past, and now she had to look at what she had before her. Possibly even use her present to fix her past.

The muggle clock she had hung above the door opposite the her bed said that it was a few minutes past 11. It reminded her of home, even because her mother had sent it

She turned to look at Winky's shape against the fire she was caring for, and smiled a bit while musing that at least her parents' owls hadn't been stopped. Her eyes began closing . . .

_____________~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ron slumped down onto his chair, put his wand on the desk and closed his eyes. He was tired, but that was the excuse. He closed his eyes not to see Harry's empty desk.

When Harry had waved his hand, Ron had understood that he didn't mean to follow their discussed plan at all. He had something else on his mind that probably involved none of the people he knew, and he was going to disappear without leaving trace. As only he knew how to. Ron would never meet Harry and Clare at the Grangers'. He would go of course, but he knew now already that the trip would be fruitless. There even was the possibility that he might never see his best friend again.

"Fudge, you dig-head, if it comes to that, I'll sell you to the Death Eaters" he sighed tiredly. At the moment, he was only hoping that they got safely to wherever Harry had in mind without getting caught. In that case, Ron would _torture_ Fudge before ridding the world of him.

The little desk clock Hermione had given him tinkled. He thought of his wife and son waiting at home. He would go crazy if he couldn't see them.

The battle field was the best place to . . . disappear. Moody was right of course. The confusion, the hatred and the intent of saving one's one life were three great ingredients to keep one distracted. Soon, however, Mundungus would come along and try to compliment Harry, miss him and create a pandemonium.

Would Fudge repent? Seeing how fond he was of the public, and seeing how fond the public was of Harry, maybe the situation would lead Fudge to forcefully do what Harry wanted.

Ron was also worried about Daniel Mitchell. Right after Harry had disapparated, there had been a curse rebound explosion exactly in the direction in which Dan had run to. Damned hell, he hoped Daniel was ok. That boy had saved his life twice, but apart from that, he was one of the most obedient of the newly recruited Hits. For heaven's sake, he was only twenty! He couldn't be dead!

Ron shook his head at himself. Of course he could be dead. There was no knowing when you were going to kick it out there. Bar him and Harry, all the men were new to the real combat outside the training the first time on the field, and most of them were green even after the second and third blood pool, but not for nothing, they were subordinates. Harry and him were the exceptions. They'd had enough time to be green while they had been at Hogwarts. Ron suspected that was why they had been so successful in the Ministry career (apart from Harry's name, which came in handy). When in school, they had been trained by life to look each other's back, to check every corner, to forget fear while acting because you only had one life and hesitation could steal it. Their minds had been sharpened during various attempt to save their lives during attacks.

They had planned, and thought of things and searched for clues that would have them advantaged when the next bastard showed up to kill Harry. And they had always been too young, always been only three and alone, too few and too many at once. And they had always been alone, working in secret and keeping their finds to themselves, trusting no one with so much as a clue. Never seeking help in others than themselves.

In the Ministry, they'd found it relatively easy. Of course, the things had gotten bigger, and the missions where of a larger responsibility, but at least now they could _plan_ an attack, they had men to back them up, they even had a Ministry Hits card that allowed them to do practically everything except a massacre.

Harry felt at home. Ron could see it while he directed the men, while listening attentively to the information and instructions for the next mission, while taking out Death Eaters on the field. Even while tearing his hair out over piles of stupid paper, Harry felt at home. He had made it his life crusade to put a stop to Voldemort. His life _was_ putting a stop to Voldemort. Sometimes Ron thought he was born for it.

Yet it was dangerous for them all. Ron hadn't seen Daniel anywhere after that explosion, but even so, he might have made it. Ron only hoped he didn't have much family. The family got it the hardest.

Now Clare was young, trustful and inexperienced, not to mention irreversibly powerful. She was new to wizarding treachery, to magical ways of torture, how easy it was to kill with a wand. And Harry knew this. He felt her loss and displacement. He loved her beyond doubt, and the need to protect her was a natural feeling, without including any of these features she unfortunately had.

Now it was all over. Ron would leave work, go to the Grangers' and wait there. Where had Harry _really_ planned to go? Probably out of the country. Would he take refuge in Europe, or even farther away? Ron wondered if the next time he saw Harry would be him running after two or three little Potters. Ron knew well enough that Harry dearly wanted to be a father, a good, present father to as many children as his wife could give him.

He himself was a father already. Did he want Timothy to grow up in this hell? Somehow Ron suddenly thought the best thin he could have done was to have gone home, grabbed Hermione and baby, and rush to Hogwarts in the hope of catching up with Harry and Clare. They would become brothers, take a different surname together. Their children would grow up together in a clean, new world, perhaps . . . forsaking even their magic? . . . 

"RON!"

Catapulted out of his thoughts worst than medieval torture, Ron nearly lost his head. As it was, he lost his balance and fell off his chair with a blasting crash. With his leg still up on the desk, he saw his brother, Percy, peeping over the desk.

"Ron, tell me Harry didn't believe a word of what I said and came back here"

"Harry didn't believe a word of what you said and came back here" muttered Ron in a monotone, trying to get up and toppling again when the swivel chair his other leg was on squeaked away.

"BE serious for once!" cried Percy "Where's Harry?"

"Right, good question"

Both brothers turned around to see Sirius and Remus at the office door

"I told you it would be worth waiting in the building" said Sirius as they let themselves in.

"Ron, where's Harry?" repeated Remus as a grumbling Ron found his way off the floor.

"Where in the blooming history do you want him to be? At blackened, damned, spotty-!"

"Shhhhhhhhh!"

"Hogwarts" Ron finished in a whisper

"We're late!" said Remus and Sirius together

"I just hope they don't get hurt, caught or stopped. We'll be picking the bodies of the ones they leave behind if someone _does_ try to throw stones at their wheels"

"As long as it's not someone I know" shrugged Ron

"Ron!" cried Percy. Then he added "You know Fudge"

" Do you think we should try to go catch up with them, and help them out?" asked Sirius, as Ron grinned at Percy before he spoke

"No, thought of it. Harry left the battle field more than an hour ago. If he and Clare had to leave, they'd have gone to wherever Harry had in mind"

"But didn't you-"

"Right" said Remus "It's useless to think he'd stay in a place where other people would think of looking for him. There probably is somewhere around the country he told nobody about for a situation just like this"

"No, it can't-" Percy tried again

"I still think we should go to Hogwarts. Clare has a house-elf no? I'm sure Clare would leave word for us of where they were going. She'd think about it"

"I wouldn't count on that. Giving the house-elf information, she would put the house-elf in danger" objected Remus "Clare would never do that. Apart from that, she would _never_ leave clues behind her. She knows very well who is after her and for _what_"

"Yes, and there's Harry too, don't forget" put in Ron "No matter how much worry and haste he's got, he'd never make stupid mistakes, especially not when there's so much at stake. I think Harry even has in mind to ask-"

"Look, you're all blabbing!" said Percy at last. They turned around to look at him. "This is nothing possible. I came here to give Harry a fat piece of good news"

"Good news?"

"Yes, Fudge's revoked the restriction orders. I sent a letter to you Mr Black, this morning, through my father. Didn't you receive it yet?"

"Good God," said Sirius, digging a hand into his inside pocket and pulling the letter out "I'd forgotten about it completely". He ripped the top and took out the official Ministry stamp order of revocation.

"I didn't tell anyone" said Sirius "we all had other chicks in the yard to care about, and I'm sure Clare hardly missed my absent owls"

"How in the Wizarding world did it happen?" asked Ron in bewilderment

"No idea brother" shrugged Percy "Fudge stepped out of his office in mid-morning and told me I had to deliver about 10 letters as discreetly as possible. So instead of sending owls, I sent, I sent Mum and Dad and Bill with them. When Fudge told me they revoked the postal filtering, I decided to deliver Harry's personally"

Ron burst out laughing no sooner had Percy finished saying the "-ally". All the other three men stared at him as he threw his hand over his stomach and roared with an insane laughter. Sirius soon joined in, sitting on Harry's desk. Ron's red face was split from side to side with a wide smile. Percy smiled, although he could not understand their extreme merriment. Remus, however was still frowning. Ron wiped his eyes and sat back on the swivel chair and started swinging left and right.

"I haven't felt this good since Hermione and Timmy" he sighed at least.

"I see no point in worrying any longer if Clare knows, but other-wise-"

"Oh Clare knows alright" said Remus "This revoke is probably her doing. Our little providence has taken up her place as powerful witch"

"You think she hypnotised Fudge?" asked Sirius

"No" said Percy "He looked himself alright. Maybe a little more scared than usual, but otherwise himself to the core"

"There we have it!" laughed Sirius

"That's right" continued Ron "she scared the pee into his pants with a couple of finger waves and then he came running to do what she wanted"

"Clever" Sirius laughed on

"And mighty" said Remus "all the way from Scotland. But what do Sirius and I have to do with it? I felt something strange too"

"Maybe your instincts just told you something was on in the building?"

"No, something was happening to me, and Sirius felt it too"

"Come to think of it" said Percy "I too felt weird this morning. One second I was sitting at my desk and the next I was standing in middle of my office with the box-file of the Hertsey case in my hands"

"I felt weird too" said Ron frowning

They all looked at him

"But you were in a totally opposite direction! North of Scarborough in the unmappable forest! We were all here at the Ministry, but you . . ."

"So she bewitched all England . . .?" asked Ron, wide-eyed

"Of course, she is very capable of doing it, very easily too" said Sirius "None of you were there during the ritual, but I was, and I can tell you that the concentration of power there was there, not even Merlin himself had"

"Holy wand" gasped Percy

"_That_ is why Voldemort must never wed her. The groom inherits the powers"

"Wohow!" laughed Ron "I'll have to go down and kiss Harry's feet the next time I see him"

"Why?" asked Percy. Ron gave a snigger and proceeded laughing. Percy still looked on in bewilderment

"I only hope" Remus whispered to Sirius "That they don't escape anyhow"

"Don't worry" replied Sirius "She'll tell him if it's as you say"

"Yes, but what worries me, is that she knows who they are now, although he doesn't"

"Never mind, Harry isn't one to escape responsibility"

"Oh yes, but would you trade death to a life together?"

________________~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^~*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*~^*

It was always easier to gab the knot of the Whomping Willow from inside the passage, rather than from the outside. Harry clambered out of the narrow passage-way between the roots and onto Hogwarts grounds. The scene was familiar, born back on wings of memory from his school days, but he had no time to ponder and ravish in it. He was now attempting to create new pleasant memories, and time was against their realisation. 

Something he always loved about the fabric was that it could be folded into a square so small it could fit in the palm of a hand, apart from the material's obvious use. He took it out of his side trousers pocket and then spread it to an impressive size. Having covered once him, Hermione and a dragon, one would have doubted it was the same thing that had been in his pocket without even bulging it.

Harry covered himself with the invisibility cloak and started towards the castle as silently as he could manage in his haste. He went around the main entrance and stopped at the corner in the castle's haphazard architecture. Apparently just a wall, Harry knew very well the by sticking his fingers into the corner between the two walls, it would open like a tent flap to let him through.

When he was inside, he pulled his invisibility cloak more tightly around him and being as quiet as he could to avoid attracting the attention of the various house-elfs, coats-of-armour and portraits.

At one point he passed Dobby, busy lighting the candles, and was tempted to ask if Clare still slept in her old room. She had never really referred to a transfer in any of her letters, but she might have reputed the event as unimportant. However, he moved on away from the house-elf knowing something of Dobby's noisy welcomes.

He paced the old corridors, consciously refraining himself from stopping to look at the surroundings. He was not sure if he would see them again anytime soon, but he preferred his newest dream to his other ones. He had always dreamt of his children going to Hogwarts, of living somewhere quietly somewhere in England with a house to go back to. But now he would have to forget Hogwarts, he would have to forget England. He didn't want his children to go to Hogwarts if Clare didn't kiss them goodbye in the morning. He wouldn't have children and a house to go back to. No matter what other people would say about the availability of so many women that fell to his feet, he felt he had been born only for her, with an utmost certainty. Others told him he had been born for other things; he had been born to destroy Voldemort; he had been born to be an Auror; he had been born to be like his father; he had been born to do great things; he had been born to pass on the name of the old family of the Potters; he had been born to fail and die under Voldemort's hand. Many different people thought he had been born to do many different things and fulfil many different dreams. But he had his own dreams. Harry Potter felt differently from them all; he had been born to live his life beside Clare. It didn't matter where, it didn't matter how, and it would never matter why. That was it and they could all go hang themselves.

He opened the oak door to the corridor, biting his tongue when it created. As he tiptoed towards the door at the centre of the corridor, he could see all the portraits that weren't snoozing looking at the open door.

Every step he took brought him closer to her. His heart began beating wildly, and only the fear of being caught held him from throwing the cloak away and rushing to the door. He was not sure she still slept there, and the other two rooms might have been occupied in his absence. The high gothic window let in moon and starlight, and the panes made the corridors look like a mosaic as they left their dark imprints between the squares of the light the glass let through. His wrist watch said it was twenty to midnight, but when he looked at it he wasn't looking for time but for reassurance.

A thin line of red light told him a fire was on inside. It would have shone on his shoes hadn't he worn the invisibility cloak.

He put a hand on the handle and gripped it. his hands were sweating and the cloak was sticking to his skin. Underneath it the air was oven-like. Harry took in a deep breath, held it in, closed his eyes, turned the slippery knob and swung the door into the room.

The fire flickered wildly at the sudden gust of air. Winky froze in position with the shadows of the flames rushing from one side of her face to the other. She looked at the nothing at the door and raised her finger.

"No Winky! No! It's me!" yelled Harry

"You who? Winky is not seeing you, so you is enemy."

"Winky, what's going on?" asked a sleepy head peeking from between the curtains

"Clare . . ." gasped Harry

Clare froze, her eyes a red grey, her hair more alight in crimson and yellow than the grate itself.

"Miss, I-"

"Hush Winky" she cut the house-elf off. The little creature obediently subsided, but defiantly kept her finger up towards the door.

The little creature that was sniffing at his feet made his eyes lead Clare's face for an instant. It was a snowy ferret, the same one that had caused their little feud by the lake, and that Clare had written to have adopted as a pet.

"Bais, stay away" she called, and the animal too obediently subsided

He looked at Clare again to laugh and say he'd forgotten its name, but he found he couldn't speak. She had pulled open the curtains and was standing on the bed, looking at him suspiciously. Holding onto one of the bedposts and the curtain, she stepped off the bouncy bed, onto the wooden trunk at its foot. The while night-gown she wore changed shade as she moved, her hair flared like an autumn lightning storm. She was beautiful. The wand was suddenly in her hand and pointing directly at him.

"I can see you" she said softly "If you move, you're dead"

Harry froze. She could see him, of course- Dumbledore had told him that she could see through every spell. But if she could see him, how could she . . . how cold she point her wand at him . . . He looked down at himself and realised he was still standing within the shadows of the door. His hand was still on the knob. He pulled the hand off the knob, keeping his grip on the cloak, and pulled it off. Winky blinked and straitened. The ferret leaped back as he threw the cloak on the floor in front of him. When Clare saw the cloak fell on the floor in the firelight, her eyes widened. She realised she had seen through it without noticing.

"Oh damn" he heard her say through her teeth. Harry mused at her attitude; she seemed so much surer of herself, so much more steady with the wand and unafraid of who she had in front of her. He smiled to herself and decided to test Dumbledore's teaching methods.

"So you can see through cloaks, Dark Lady. It is true that our master has fine tastes" he hissed, trying not to laugh. He gave Winky, who had night-time vision and could see him perfectly where he was, a furtive smile which she returned.

"If you move, I'll blast you towards the grounds without removing the walls. I'm sure you know the way from there"

"Come on" continued Harry, in his made up voice "Put that stick away, I know it's empty. You don't need that to blast me, you just have to wink your grey eyes at me"

He saw her stiffen visibly, narrow her eyes and point her want more determinately at him. Again, she looked extremely beautiful, exciting and dangerous.

"My eyes are not grey" she said

"Of course they are" he said in his own voice "They're the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen Clare"

He saw her eyes widen until he saw white all around the dancing grey. She inched him forward with her fingers

"Step into the light"

One step was enough. The ferret growling and Winky giggling lightly where the background as their eyes met. A reddish hue that didn't reflect neither the fire nor her hair rose up her cheeks

"Don't move" she stammered as she paced closer, wand pointed but trembling. She pace all around him, poking him with her wand. When she came around and faced him again, he smiled at her.

"Clare, love, if it was a disguise spell, you'd have seen through it like water"

"Oh God!" she finally gasped. She stepped back, took some breaths with her mouth open, seeming unable to breath, and then finally she exclaimed, threw her coreless wand to the floor and jumped into his arms

"Oh God, Harry, Harry, oh Lord" she kept mumbling, as she pressed herself against him. Her eyes were shut tight as though she didn't want to see him if he was a mirage. Little, glistening beads of tears escaped her eyelashes and tracked down her cheeks.

"Harry . . . I'm so happy . . . I can't believe it . . ."

"Breath" he laughed as he hugged her tighter to him, nearly trying to push her inside him as she pulled him to herself, both trying to swallow each other so as to never part again.

She pushed away from him and started passing her fingers frantically through his hair, along his cheeks, across his lips, her wide eyes still leaking tears. He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips, then she burst out crying and buried her face into his shoulder. He rocked her this side and the other, pivoting on his ankles as she sobbed quietly and savoured in her touch. He dipped his nose into her hair and took a deep breath of her scent, he rubbed her shaking shoulders to give and take comfort. He had never felt so happy in all his life, and he felt he would never again; finding her like this after all the months of wait, after the time of fight, the reconciliation and forced parting. Finding her like this, alert, but waiting for him so eagerly that she cried upon seeing him. Would he ever be so happy again in his life?

Clare planted a soft kiss onto his neck. He rested his cheek on her head and passed his hands through her hair. Her chest rose and fell rhythmically against his and he felt at peace. At home. For the first time in his life he felt at home. It hadn't been the burrow, it hadn't been his home or his office. Everyone associated his home to a place; he had found it in Clare. She was his home. Where ever he was, in a shack, in a villa, in a box, if she was with him he was at home.

And that's why, reluctantly, he pushed her away, and instead of kissing her as he wanted to, he started speaking very quickly

"Are there any people in the rooms around?" he asked first. She shook her head, looking confused. "Clare, love, I don't have time to explain this, but we have to go. Winky, please help her pack! We have to leave Hogwarts immediately. Even now, if they realised I'm gone, we might be too late to make away on time before they separated us for good!"

Clare looked at him blank faced. In her mind there was a complete confusion. He had plunged into her room, a dream come true, a night of rain after a three year drought. Now he asked her to pack and be gone with him in haste. She blinked and blinked again. Then frowned. She had seen Fudge _write_ the letter, but had he actually dared not to send it? Even after what she had been forced to do?

And yet she had received an owl full of apology when he hadn't reached the transfer owl in time. Had it all been a fluke? A big joke so that he could try to take her unawares in the night? 

But no. He couldn't be SO stupid. She would still blow away whoever he had sent and then go to murder him in the wrath of a furious god. She was sure she now had the little man seeing he was wrong. And yet here was Harry telling her to make haste and prepare for departure before it was late- God! Had he done something drastic to get to her? Disobeyed orders? Beat up someone? Surely not _murdered_ someone!

No, no, she was precipitating. It couldn't be.

"Clare, I'm not joking! They're coming for you tomorrow morning and taking you to Norway! I won't see you again, and sure as hell I'll die without you"

__

Die without you . . . could he possibly . . . yes, he loved her as much as she loved him. A love that was like the worst of drugs, one that induced dependence, one that made the person incapable of living without the other and their mutual feeling. A love that like the drugs destroyed once missing, making life worthless, meaningless, decaying the live body worst than a dead one, starting by decaying the mind. Taking away the life a drop by drop.

Why did he want to go? Could he possibly not know that it was all over? Was it all over or not?? Fudge would pay if he'd thought he could cheat her, oh yes he would pay. But she was sure this wasn't his notion. Not this time. Then what??

"Come, let me help you pack," he said helpfully, looking at her labouring face. He kept her hand in his and guided her along the room, opening the trunk and then putting a couple of odd items into it from one of the bedside tables. He kept going back and forth slowly, taking her with him as she looked on at him in a hubble of thought.

If he didn't know . . . if the order had been revoked and he hadn't been informed yet . . . shouldn't she tell him? Tell him that he was worrying for nothing and that he should put the things down and have a rest, hug her, lie down and just sleep the night away?

Then why wasn't she telling him? Why was she tagging along at the end of his arm letting him pack her things into her trunk without speaking? Winky was doing it too, but Winky had always made it clear that she wanted Clare to escape and save her life. Harry was dragging her along; he was even handing her clothes which she was holding without protest. Harry didn't know that Hogwarts was safe, but he also didn't know that they being together mean their death. _I'm escaping again . . ._ the thought filtered in her mind like an alien voice. So what, she answered, I want to live.

But was it right? What would be of this world, of this England that had bred and fed her for 18 years? What of her mother, her father, Sirius, her cousin Remus? Most of all, what of Hermione, Ron, and Little Timmy, who yet had his whole life in front of him. Then there were her students, all young, all hopeful of finding something in their future that would be worth the while working for . . . none of them would live happy, if any of them lived at all, if she left.

But then, what of herself. She too was young, she too had dreams and hopes and wishes.

__

Can't I have them?

Her mind debated the answer, and what to do, while life and destiny decided it for her. 

"Clare, this is . . ."

Clare looked up as Harry picked up the order of transfer. She had left it on the bedside table to the right of her bed. God knew where the other letter was, and now Harry was looking wide eyed at the piece of parchment and at her. He had no doubt thought she had known nothing about the transfer and that that was the reason why she was behaving in that bewildered manner. Now that he had discovered she knew all, his thoughts probably guided him to deduce she had wanted to stay and leave for Norway.

"You know about the transfer? But then . . . why are you . . . you don't want to come with me?"

Bingo. She had guessed. And now for the answer.

"Of course I want to come with you, only that- you see- there is no need for that anymore. I'm not going anywhere, and you can even send me letters again"

"What? Clare, are you . . . do you know what you're saying?

Clare sighed. She had been forced to tell him that the danger was not imminent. Better so than another misunderstanding. She couldn't tell him that she was the fox and he was the raven, and that she wanted to escape anyway with him to get away from certain death, but he didn't even know anything about the prophesy.

"I managed to convince Fudge to remove the order"

"You convinced . . . you mean you're really not going to Norway?" Harry was flabbergasted

"Winky, do you know where the other letter is?" asked Clare wearily. She had dearly wanted to let Harry do and guide her out of Hogwarts to wherever he wanted to take her, away from Voldemort, but she knew it was wrong. Had she escaped during the holidays, she wouldn't be having this second chance with Harry, so she had to trust life. However untrustworthy it could be.

"I went to the ministry as soon as Albus told me about the transfer. I . . . persuaded Fudge to change his plans . . ."

She had said it. He knew. Harry was intelligent, he would make two plus two easily enough and guess how she had `persuaded` him to do what she wanted. They wanted, she corrected herself (at least, she hoped it was `they`). She felt trapped in a corner. All the doubts that had been assailing her a few hours before returned. What if he hated her? What if, when he asked- for he would ask- she told him and he was disgusted? Would he severe the bond between them that hadn't yet solidified? 

She looked down and squeezed her eyes shut. He had just said he couldn't live without her, but would it still be true after he knew in what way she used her powers? Would he really- COULD he severe their bond, even if they really where the fox and raven? Could he turn away from her and . . .

The thoughts that where suddenly flung at her were ones of utter torture and violence to her that she would have gladly had a caster to hate. She saw Harry, with another at his side. She would die if he turned away from her, but she didn't really know what that would do to her. Something beyond pain, beyond death, something that would cut in so deeply that the blood wouldn't ooze out as through the normal wounds, it would vanish, leaving an empty cast, alive, but dead.

And it would come. She was sure that it would come.

"How on earth did you manage that? He was so obstinate on the matter that not even Snape and Dumbledore managed to convince him otherwise!"

There it was. She had to answer him, she had to tell him the truth- how could she ever lie to him?

"I . . . well I . . . it wasn't too difficult because I . . ."

"Wow Clare, you're incredible! The deuce with him! He's always been so confoundedly stubborn when he thinks he's right that he always ended up making the country some damage, which in the end it's always us who have to fix! Heaven in hell if you aren't a walking miracle!"

"You don't know what I did" I said slowly. He fell silent, because he understood, by our special little connection that he could sever at any time, that I needed to tell him something.

"I went to the Ministry this morning, and I . . . Fudge was stubborn, as you said, and I had to resort to . . . extreme manners"

"Holy God! Clare, tell me you didn't kill him!"

She winced

"What if I did?" she asked tentatively, creasing her eyebrows in unpleasant expectation

"Then I have to get you out of here, I won't let anyone arrest you or any such sort"

She looked up at him in surprise

"No Harry, there's no need for that-"

"Only one thing" –ouch, that tone promised nothing good- "why did you say it was safe if-"

"It is Harry, because I didn't kill Fudge, I- I did something worst"

"What could be worst than that!"

"I used my powers on him"

Clare found the following silence so ominous that she would have rather had him yelling. She looked up at him expecting a stern expression- which was exactly what she got.

"I would never have thought you would do something like that" he said. The disappointment in his voice was a weight to her.

She was pulling the situation apart, and herself too to that, for no valid reason. She had done it, too bad, and now she's have to live with it and face the music she had written.

"He left me no choice. I asked for his removal of the ordinance, but he kept refusing. He even said that he was going to arrest Dumbledore, and then I really had no other choice. What would you have done?"

"I never had your power. You seemed to have forgotten that power is nothing without control"

"Well I . . . I never meant any harm, I was never going to kill him! You thought I had and you were all for taking me away not to get arrested, but now that I told you I used my powers-"

"Do you realise that you could have been captured? God knows how many moles there are in that building that would give their life and their soul to follow Voldemort to the grave, figures to get YOU to him!"

"That's why you were angry?"

"Well, you also wasted good magic on Fudge" he said, face breaking from one of grudgeful consideration to a lighting grin. 

"You cruel man!" Clare exclaimed beating him lightly but repeatedly on the arm, at which he laughed out heartily "You scared the life out of me! I don't even know what I imagined you had been thinking!"

"You where the one who had been thinking wrongly not me!" he teased, still laughing. Then he gave her a mighty naughty grin, looked at her over his spectacles and said "So how did you do it? Hypnosis? A good dose of curses?"

"Not really" she said giving a slight smile "Neither of them, actually". She stepped backwards and flopped onto the trunk. The long silken straps of silken material that made the bottom part of the night dress flipped on either side and left her legs bare.

"I actually had quite a to do because I chose not to do anything too drastic to Fudge himself"

"Bribe then? What did you use? His name?"

Clare laughed "You went close enough this time. I did use his name, but I don't think you can guess what I did. I didn't do anything much to him"

"It's not a mystery that it takes little to make him shake like and autumn leaf" said Harry with a sound snigger.

"You'd be surprised how much hostility I found in that tin of pusillanimity" she sighed. "He would not give in even when I showed that I would not give any mercy easily. Thinking about it now, I think he is not such a coward after all. I was so angry I would not have seen reason even if Dumbledore and you had begged me to together. I don't know what I would have done if had been more stubborn than he was. But even though I must have looked quite frightful, he stood his ground quite soundly."

"He is a stubborn coward who is good at heart, but tends to make messes out of his simplicity" chuckled Harry as he sat down in a relaxed manner at her feet

"No better description of that man has yet been made" she replied laughing. Harry rested his face on his fist, and nearly fell over when his elbow slipped off his knee. Clare only laughed louder, clutching her middle as she doubled over. Her red hair shook with every gasp, and Harry watched her laughing for some time, smiling to himself, until it hit him that he had no reason not to laugh with her. After all, they were now finally rid of any external interference (apart from Winky and the ferret), and apart from Voldemort, nothing was in their road to their life together. At that very moment in time, not even Voldemort seemed all that big an obstacle. All that seemed important to Harry at that moment was the laughing figure shrouded in the white, wavy material that looked like clouds on a mellow day, paired with waves of red hair that shivered merrily, playfully skipping her ears behind which she had secured them, descending around her delightful face. The tear tracks she had made before glistened contentedly, as anything would do in contact with her smooth skin. 

He caught himself thinking, realised WHAT he had been thinking and burst out laughing while he blushed. He had no reason to be ashamed of what he thought, no reason not to laugh while she was happy herself. Clare was the only one who counted now, and not anybody would get in the way of their felicity now. Not now, not never.

He wanted to make sure of that. Yet, first he had to make sure that she wanted it too.

The next thought that entered his mind arrested his laughter as she kept on giggling out of sheer contentment. The hard object that was weighing his pocket down was about to decide his life. As she noticed his silence and looked at him questioningly with twinkling eyes, reflecting the warmth of the grate, his heart skipped into a faster tempo.

"Clare . . ." he started. She stopped, looking at him newly with a more attentive expression. No doubt she had guessed something was coming by the trembling seriousness in his tone. "I want to ask you something . . . and please, I would like to ask you to answer me immediately if it is possible." Harry gulped down on an unwilling throat. He stuffed his hand in his pocket, took out the box, clasped it firmly in his hand. It groaned because he was holding it too tightly.

"Clare, I . . . don't know where to start, but I guess I should start by saying that you're the . . . most beautiful person I've ever met, and that if you want, I would like to . . . share my life with you"

Harry shifted his position, resting on one knee, and presented her timidly but firmly with the velvet box.

"Always if you want to . . ."

Clare was looking at the box with an expression of total loss. She didn't know whether to believe that what box held inside it was what she wanted it to be, or whether she standed corrected. Could it be that all she dreamed of in her life was closed in such small a box? Could it be that Harry was here and now asking her to be . . . his? She already was, or course- in her mind, she couldn't belong to anyone else. But now he was asking her if she wanted to be his in front of all the rest of humanity. To declare openly that from this day, Clare Dawson belonged to Harry Potter, and Harry Potter belonged to Clare Dawson, for everyone to know and respect for good.

Clare kept staring blankly.

"Clare, I know you might need time to answer me on such important a thing" began Harry hesitantly "But so many things have happened lately that have kept us apart, and sometimes I even thought I might never see you again and it broke me. Please Clare, please, understand, I . . . I have to know now"

He opened the box to show a dainty white gold ring with three white sparkling gems set in an antique-style framework. They caught the fire light and began to give off the blaze's brilliance multiplied by a hundred. The noise of the fire popping and roaring, and of an owl hooting outside, magnified in her head with its shock. Magnified like the light on the three magnificent jewels on the all-meaning ring. Clare's mouth opened, but no sound came out 

"If you want me . . ." he stammered, unable to finish the sentence and letting the phrase pend in the surrounding air that was already very thick.

"What are you asking me that for you stupid man!" cried Clare suddenly, breaking into a hearty sob

"Clare! Oh dear, listen if you don't want-"

"Who has ever said THAT!" she wailed, throwing herself at him and burying her head in his shoulder "Who ever said I don't want! The stupid thing is having asked me at all! OF COURSE I want you! There's no one else in the world I'd rather have better!"

She pushed back, looking him in the eye, to see that they were holding unshed tears, and also to try to tell him all the emotion she felt at that moment, emotion so big that it would have taken the most eloquent of poets, writers and minstrels to describe. Fresh tracks of tears made their way down her face as quickly as Harry rubbed the old ones off with his fingers. Before either of them knew it Clare was buried deeply into Harry's shoulder, her arms circling his waist, while he had his face in her hair, his arms tightly wrapping every part of her he could manage to contain. Clare couldn't stop shaking with sobs and squeals of laughter of the most devastating and utterly inconfinable happiness she had ever felt in her entire life. It was all Harry could do to stop himself from yelling and laughing as strongly as his lungs and vocal chords could allow him to. The Hogwarts congregation was not an ideal audience for their first moment as a private (except Winky, who sat forgotten, sniffing happily herself) engaged couple, although a couple of Hogwarts' inhabitants would be gladly let in on the news soon enough. First of all Snape, thought Harry with a little snigger. Ah, darn male pride- everyone else could wait, SHE was the most important person at the moment. And SHE was sobbing and hiccuping and laughing heartily at once.

He pushed away gently

"Clare . ." he said softly, cupping her chin and making her look up at him. She gave a radiant smile that caught his breath somewhere unreachable in regions of his stomach. Some of her hair was stuck to her face, her mouth was a perfect shape of happiness, her eyes where the most beautiful precious stones that had ever seen the light of day. Wordlessly, he picking the box off the trunk on which she sat (which he had put there at a point in time that was missing from his memory), took the ring out and slipped it onto the third finger of her left hand.

"Until the day when you wear the other" he whispered, closing his eyes as he planted a kiss on her hand. Rising off his knee, he carried his lips up her arm, slowly up he neck, pleasing himself in her little gasps and responses to his slight tempting, and then finally, searching her eyes to find her approval, his lips met hers for the first belated time.

She leaned backwards, pushing herself off the trunk and completely onto the bed. He went with her. Her hair fell around her and underneath her like a red velvet sheet. She removed his spectacles so she could see his eyes shining in the firelight, and discarded them on the bedside table. Winky very quietly took the ferret in her arms and unseen left the room. He traced her lips with his forefinger, then caressed under her eye with his thumb. His left hand was still underneath her, their combined weight pressing it against her back, were it felt as if it was being marked by fire.

Then he kissed her, finally, deeply, passionately, as only a man in love could do. This is heaven, they both thought, this is what I always wanted. Something in the recesses of their minds connected them permanently on their reciprocal feelings and let their emotions flow from one to the other in an endless river of red warmth. Their chests heaved air in and out intensely, their hearts beating faster than a mouse's. As Harry moved his lips up and down her throat, bearly touching her skin but taking in her scent, Clare was transported into world of her own, a world where only them two existed. A world where there were no dangers, no enemies, no time, where only they and their time _were_. He lifted his face and she got lost in his beautiful eyes as he got lost in hers. She lifted her head off the mattress and kissed him.

"I love you" she whispered in his ears. She heard him take a sharp breath and when she rested on the bed again, she saw his eyes were wide.

"It's the first time you told me that" he said in a mixture of awe and delight.

"It's the truth" she said, tracing the line of his face with her hand "I Love you"

"I love you too" he said. It was her turn to feel violent emotion. A warmth that rivalled lava rose up from her chest, spreading all over her body. She realised she was holding her breath and let it out in a shivering sigh.

They stopped moving completely, looking at each other with mesmerised glances, each one trying to imprint the other firmly in mind, to remember and treasure it forever. At that moment, they both knew they were made for each other, they knew their destinies had begun and would end together. They knew they had to savour every moment because they knew they might not see each other again. As Harry lowered himself over her completely- sinking his face into her neck- sliding his other arm underneath her- hugging her with all the strength he could muster- they knew all too well that each one was half the other. Clare didn't know how the robe didn't tear. She was clutching it vehemently as she pressed him to her, holding onto him like a life line.

He raised his head and kissed her again, making them both feel like heaven and hell put together. Both of them knew- knew very well- that they loved each other beyond death, and they had to make the most of this night, and while they did, all the rest of the world could wait.

__________~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"NO!" he screeched. All the cave fell silent as the furious voice froze the air in their lungs.

"It has happened! They have joined!" Voldemort screamed on "Cursed Male who has taken her favours! But I shall take her back!"

All the Death Eaters looked on stricken as the two rings of fire slowly moved closer to each other until they finally became one.

__________~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Not Harry, not Harry . . . please, take me instead!"

. . .

"It's the truth . . . I love you"

"I love you too"

. . .

"Professor, My eyes! His eyes, our hair! We are the fox and the raven, me and Harry ARE the fox and the raven!"

. . .

"They shall breath their last breath and vanquish the angel of death"

. . .

"What was, what is, and what will be are fragments of a mosaic, that will, in the end, rejoin to a whole"

……………………………………………………………………………

__

End of the Chapter 'The pieces of the mosaic fall into place'

…………………………………………………………………………….

This is it! Yes, they did do what you are thinking they did. I leave it to you to decide how and to you imagination to decide whether you like it or not!

Please, no one comes to tell me this has ruined the status quo, or something like that. This had to happen, and I know what I'm doing. AND they're both over age. Ha.

Lolol. Oh well, I thank those who reviewed till now, boohooo because I lost all the other lovely reviews, and hope to see you all asap.

Although I have NOTHING in mind for the next chapter except the plot skelaton…… (sweat drop)


End file.
